Maitreya Bodhisattva

INDIA / PAKISTAN

In addition to the brass from which the sculpture is cast, the eyes are inlaid with silver and the mouth with copper. The figure and base were made as a single piece. The ornamentation includes the ribbons and decorations on the headdress, as well as the plant and vase held by the Bodhisattva. A protrusion on the statue’s back suggests there may once have been a mandorla.
The lion throne on which Maitreya sits in full lotus position rests on an inverted lotus supported by a rectangular base. The figure wears a three-leaf crown fronted by a pagoda, which is an identifying feature for this Bodhisattva. The hair it encloses builds into a fan shape. A necklace decorates the chest while a beaded sacred thread descends diagonally across it. The left hand opens in varada (wish-granting) mudra and there is a longevity leaf in the right.