Java: Figurine of Vairocana Buddha

INDONESIA, Central Java

This figurine depicts a seated Buddha in half lotus position, wearing a trefoil crown attached with pearls and ribbons. The Buddha has large eyes, a high bridged nose, and a white urna between the eyebrows. He has a dignified and solemn expression and he performs the bodhyangi (wisdom fist) mudra with his hands. His unclothed upper body is decorated with a necklace, bead ornaments, armlets, and bangles; the lower garment he wears has pictorial motifs. Behind the Buddha is a lotus mandorla decorated with a flame pattern.
The Buddha is identified as Vairocana. In Vajrayana Buddhism, Vairocana is regarded as the original Buddha manifested in the ultimate reality. He is also the main figure in the Diamond Realm Mandala and Womb Realm Mandala, both of which were popular in Central Java at the time this figurine was made, suggesting that it could have served as the main image of a mandala.