Sarnath: Standing Buddha

INDIA, Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi

The statue has child-like Indian features, an impression further emphasized by the small scale of the statue and the missing lower part of the legs. Buddha characteristics include a large flattened usnisa, elongated earlobes, and the three lines on the neck. An urna is believed to have been painted on the forehead. Beneath arched eyebrows, the almond-shaped eyes are hooded and lowered. The nose is wide and the lips full. A thin monastic robe covers both shoulders and is only treated in any detail where it curves over the lower body. The folds depicted by simple line incisions are not part of the original work but were added at a later period.