Bamiyan East Buddha Niche

AFGHANISTAN, Bamiyan

The East Buddha Niche is situated on the east side of the north cliff of the Bamiyan Valley. The niche, which housed the East Buddha, is 15 m wide at the bottom, 9 m wide at the top, and 40 m in height. There is a corridor around the top of the niche, with a passage leading to the ground. Holes in the east and west walls of the niche supported wood fixtures, and there are various caves and smaller niches at the base. Unfortunately, both the East and West Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Also referred to as Sakyamuni Buddha, the East Buddha’s earliest description was in the 7th century by Chinese Master Xuanzang, who described a Sakyamuni Buddha statue covered in a brass casing. The East Buddha was also said to have better proportions than the West Buddha, with both arms outstretched. The Buddha had bare feet, with the right leg slightly extended out from the left. The robes featured pleats in the Gandharan style. First hewn out of the cliff stone, the statue was then coated with mud plaster and 10 cm of brass. There was a corridor behind the feet for circumambulation.
The walls of the niche were originally covered with murals and the ceiling had a depiction of astrological signs. All of these images have since been destroyed.