The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 20, 2025

Light brown ivory sculpture carved to depict a skeletal Buddha seated cross-legged, hands folded in his lap, while various figures cluster around him, forming a rectangular sculpture. Two figures only slightly smaller than the Buddha flank him while figure's a fifth his size support the platform he sits on and gather over his head, leaning towards him. Gaps are carved in the ivory between the figures. Fine, dark brown lines striate the sculpture.

Fasting Buddha

700s

India, Kashmir, 8th century

ivory
Overall: 12 x 9.5 x 1.5 cm (4 3/4 x 3 3/4 x 9/16 in.)
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 1986.70
Location: 237 Himalayan
  • ?–1986
    (David Tremayne, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1986–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1986.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 74, no. 2, 1987, pp. 38–79. Mentioned: no. 215, pp. 46-47, 76; Reproduced: no. 215, p. 46
    Czuma, Stanislaw. "A Unique Addition to the School of Kashmiri Ivories." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 8 (1988): 298-319. Mentioned and Reproduced: front cover; p. 312, figs. 21 and 22 www.jstor.org
    Czuma, Stan. “Ivory Sculpture” in Art and Architecture of Ancient Kashmir. Pratapaditya Pal, editor. Bombay: Marg Publications, 1989. Mentioned: pp. 57–76
    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. 152–153
    Pal, Pratapaditya, Amy Heller, Oskar von Hinüber, and Gautamavajra Vajrācārya. Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. Chicago, Il: Art Institute of Chicago in association with University of California Press and Mapin Pub, 2003. Reproduced: cat. no. 69, p. 114
    Diamond, Debra, and Molly Emma Aitken. Yoga: The Art of Transformation. Washington, D.C.: Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2013. Reproduced: cat. no. 6B, p. 139
    Quintanilla, Sonya Rhie. "Yoga: The Art of Transformation." Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine, vol. 54, no. 4, July/August 2014, pp. 6–7. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 6 archive.org
  • Collecting Paradise: Buddhist Art of Kashmir and Its Legacies. Mary and Leigh Block Museum of Art, Evanston, IL (organizer) (January 13-April 19, 2015); Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY (May 22-October 19, 2015).
    Yoga: The Art of Transformation. National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC (organizer) (October 19, 2013-January 26, 2014); Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA (February 21-May 25, 2014); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (June 22-September 7, 2014).
    Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (April 5-August 17, 2003); National Museum of Asian Art, Washington, DC (October 19, 2003-January 11, 2004).
    Dance of the Gods: Indian Art Inspired by Music. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 24-December 8, 1996).
    Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=Fasting Buddha|url=false|author=|year=700s|access-date=20 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.70