Udayana Buddha
Red sandalwood
Udayana Buddha
CHINA; Qing dynasty
The Udayana Buddha statue is the earliest Buddha image created. The ones from China existed in two forms. The first style was popular in the Luoyang area during the Tang dynasty (618–907), in which the Buddha sits with legs pendent and wears a robe across the left shoulder. The second style was popular after the Song dynasty (960–1279), where the Buddha wears a robe with dense, rippling folds. The second style originated from the legend in which the Buddha was requested to stand beside the water, and his image was painted based on the rippling reflection of him in the water.
The Buddha wears a robe covering both shoulders and concentric folds rippling down the chest. The hands are held in abhaya (fearlessness) and varada (wish-granting) mudras. The figure stands on the large surface of the lotus pod.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z, page 1273.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Lovelock, Yann and Chou, Yuan and Huntington, Susan and Edson, Gary and Neather, Robert,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture St-Z},
pages = 1273,
title = {{Udayana Buddha}},
volume = 13,
year = {2016}}