Seated Buddha

CHINA; Tang dynasty

The Buddha sits in full lotus position on a tall, circular Sumeru throne. The hands, which would have been in the dhyana (meditation) mudra, are detached. The figure’s hair rises to a rounded usnisa above a broad face in which the mouth is drawn downward. The monastic robe covers the left shoulder and wraps tightly about the body. The work dates from the Early Tang period (618–712) according to the inscription, but the realistic folds of the cloth covering the pedestal are characteristics of the High Tang period (712–756). The statue, in addition seems slightly too large for the pedestal. This suggests that the two did not originally belong togather.
The inscription dates the statue to 647, and the donor is identified as Liang Gong who dedicated it to Princess Gaoyang.