
Ivory
This delicately carved Sakyamuni Buddha is seated in full lotus position on a double lotus throne with a banded floral base. The Buddha has a usnisa crowned with a gem and wears monastic robes that covers both shoulders and flows down to his feet. The right hand forms the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra, while the left hand is held sideways at waist level in the vitarka (teaching) mudra. The large openwork nimbus has an impressive flaming surround. Within the nimbus is the cosmological hexagram inherited from India that consists of two triangles locked in harmonious embrace. The auspicious right-turning conch is at the center of the hexagram.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Sculpture N-Sr, page 917.