The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 21, 2023

Standing Buddha

1100s

Southern Myanmar (Burma), Pegu, or northwestern Thailand

Gold repoussé

Overall: 13.8 x 5.7 cm (5 7/16 x 2 1/4 in.)

Gift of Maxine and Morris Stone 1987.154

Location

not on view

Fun Fact

Pegu, the capital of the Mon empire, is on the south-central coast of Myanmar.

Description

Along with manuscripts, small-scale images of the Buddha could be commissioned by pilgrims or devotees and offered to a monastery in connection with a vow or the consecration of a sacred monument or object.

The Buddha stands on a lotus flower that indicates his transcendence above ordinary beings. He is surrounded by flames that communicate his radiance and the intensity of the heat or power he acquired through meditation and discipline. His hands are in the mudra communicating the transmission of the teachings.

Provenance
?–1987
(Spink & Son, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
1987–
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Citations
Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 75, no. 2 (1988): 30–71. Mentioned: p. 71, cat. no. 216; Reproduced: p. 66, cat. no. 216 www.jstor.org
Menzies, Jackie. Buddha: Radiant Awakening. Sydney: Art Gallery NSW, 2001. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 183, cat. no. 21
Exhibition history

The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

Buddha, Radiant Awakening. Art Gallery of New South Wales (organizer) (November 10, 2001-February 24, 2002).

Text and Image in Southern Asia​ (Indian Painting and Himalayan rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-March 5, 2023).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1987.154