Buddha

Tibet 17th century 

Silver with gold pigment (cold gold)

14 cm

This charming and well balanced Buddha image shows clearly the image- making inheritance which Tibetans gained from India and Nepal. The image sits on a quite high lotus base, a style not uncommon in the so-called ‘Pala Revival Style’ of the 18th cent in Tibet. It is not entirely beyond probability that this image had its origins in that period in a typical Central Tibetan workshop. The figure displays all the classical features of the Buddha such as the usnisa ‘bump’, the raised head, the slight downward gaze, the broad chest, highly stylized and decorated robes and the firmly seated position which suggests the immovability of Buddha’s Enlightenment.