The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 18, 2024

Naga-enthroned Buddha (base)

Naga-enthroned Buddha (base)

1100–1150
bronze
Overall: 58.4 x 28 cm (23 x 11 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1963.263.b
Location: not on view

Description

Jayavarman VII, who built the great royal temple at Banteay Chhmar, linked himself with the image of the Buddha seated on a serpent, or naga, as the divine form under which he would be honored.

During his reign, the naga-enthroned Buddha became a ubiquitous image for veneration, often set up together with Lokeshvara, who was associated with his father, and Prajnaparamita, the form under which his deceased mother was honored. Lokeshvara is the powerful enlightened being of compassion, while Prajnaparmita is the goddess who personifies wisdom. King Jayavarman VII, therefore, presented himself as the enlightened Buddha, the product of the union of Compassion and Wisdom, supported and glorified by the naga, which refers to the
Khmer people.

Images of the naga-enthroned Buddha have been found at Banteay Chhmar, both in architectural relief sculpture and as icons in the round. After the death of Jayavarman VII, followers of other forms of Buddhism (for example, Theravada) that became prevalent in Cambodia changed the meaning of the naga-enthroned Buddha and reinterpreted the image to refer to a scene from the historical Buddha’s life story in which a serpent protected him from a flood. The crowned and bejeweled aspect of this Buddha, though, indicates that it is another kind of transcendent figure. In his lap his hands are in a posture of meditation, holding what appears to be an offering of ceremonial rice referring to the hope that he will ensure the prosperity of the land.
  • H. W. Thompson, Bangkok, Thailand
    ?–1963
    (J.J. Klejman, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1963–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • "Oriental Art Recently Acquired by American Museums, 1963." Archives of the Chinese Art Society of America 18 (1964): pp. 69-91. Reproduced: p. 73, fig. 16 www.jstor.org
    Marcus, Margaret F. “Buddha Sheltered by Mucalinda.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 52, no. 7 (1965): 185–93. Mentioned: pp. 185–193; Reproduced: cover, p. 184, fig. 1; p. 191, figs. 5–6; p. 192, figs. 7–9 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 243 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 242 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 318 archive.org
    Cunningham, Michael R., Stanislaw J. Czuma, Anne E. Wardwell, and J. Keith Wilson. Masterworks of Asian Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 163–163
    Menzies, Jackie. Buddha: Radiant Awakening. Sydney: Art Gallery NSW, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 93, pp. 128–129
  • Beyond Angkor: Cambodian Sculpture from Banteay Chhmar. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 14, 2017-March 25, 2018).
    Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).
    Buddha, Radiant Awakening. Art Gallery of New South Wales (organizer) (November 10, 2001-February 24, 2002).
  • {{cite web|title=Naga-enthroned Buddha (base)|url=false|author=|year=1100–1150|access-date=18 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1963.263.b