Reclining Buddha (Skt.: Mahaparinirvana)

Southeast Asian Collection

Accession Nr.: 9360
Type: religious or cult object; metalwork; statuette
Date of production:
19th century
Place of production:
Materials/Techniques: tin, with red lacquer, gilt
Dimensions: height: 3. 5 cm
width: 6. 5 cm
depth: 2. 8 cm
Heavily worn, painted and gilt reclining Buddha figure, depicted in a prostrate pose on a three-tiered reclining couch on a triangular cushion.
The sculptor of this tiny statue depicts the master in a dying (Skt. parinirvana) pose, just minutes before his death. A common formulation of the iconographic type can be seen here, the closed-eyed, bowed-headed Sakyamuni, now out of the fussy embrace of the samsara.