Mathura: Standing Buddha

INDIA, Uttar Pradesh, Mathura

Unearthed from Mathura, the Buddha wears a monastic robe that covers both shoulders. The Buddha has features including an usnisa, extended earlobes, and webbed fingers. The robe hangs with deep curving pleats over the arms, while shallower folds ripple down the front. The left hand grasps the edge of the robe while the right is raised in abhaya (fearlessness) mudra. The nimbus has two inner bands of radial patterns, succeeded by two broader bands with floral motifs, beyond which is a beaded surround with a scalloped edge, typical of the Kushan period (circa 1st–3rd century). According to a somewhat unclear inscription along the base, the work has been dated to either 230 or 280. However, the style is clearly 5th century.