Maitreya Bodhisattva

CHINA; Ming dynasty

The Bodhisattva wears a decorative headdress inlaid with turquoise and red coral and with lotus side-pieces. The meditative face tilts gracefully to the right at the apex of an upward spiral, beginning from the leftwards tilt of the slim waist and anchored by the full lotus position of the legs. The long hair is piled in a conical usnisa behind the crown and spills down over the shoulders and arms. The hands are held before the chest with the right in Dharmacakra (Dharma wheel) mudra, while the long stalks of lotus flowers wrap around the forearms and bloom at shoulder height. These elements support two of the Bodhisattva’s attributes, a mounted Dharma wheel on the right side and a spouted vessel on the left. A third attribute, the stupa containing the Buddha’s robe of office which will eventually descend to him, ornaments the crest of his usnisa.