Ascetic Sakyamuni
Gilt bronze
Ascetic Sakyamuni
CHINA; Yuan dynasty
The statue represents Sakyamuni during the six-year period when he lived as an ascetic before his enlightenment. Sakyamuni wears a topknot decorated with a gem and his eyes are slightly closed. The figure sits in the royal ease posture, with the hands resting naturally on the knee. The robes cling to the legs and patterns are visible on the hem. Sakyamuni became emaciated during this time due to the practice of eating only the barest minimum, hence the bones of the exposed arm and shin are clearly visible.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F, page 55.
Cite this article:
Hsingyun, et al. "Ascetic Sakyamuni." Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F, vol. 10, 2016, pp. 55.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Yann Lovelock, Yuan Chou, Susan Huntington, Gary Edson, and Robert Neather. 2016. "Ascetic Sakyamuni" In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F, 10:55.
Hsingyun, Youheng, Lovelock, Y., Chou, Y., Huntington, S., Edson, G., & Neather, R.. (2016). Ascetic Sakyamuni. In Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture A-F (Vol. 10, pp. 55).
@misc{Hsingyun2016,
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 A-F},
pages = 55,
title = {{Ascetic Sakyamuni}},
volume = 10,
year = {2016}}
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 A-F},
pages = 55,
title = {{Ascetic Sakyamuni}},
volume = 10,
year = {2016}}