A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

A LARGE BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA, THAILAND, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

Reference: ART1008622

Seated in sattvasana, his hands in bhumisparsa and dhyana mudra, wearing a sanghati with long sash, the face with serene expression with downcast eyes, under arched eyebrows.
Height: 48 cm.
Width: 32 cm.

The gesture of calling the earth to witness, the pose in which this Buddha is represented, seated cross-legged with his fingertips touching the ground, is common in Sukhothai art. It is the charged moment before the Buddha attained enlightenment, when meditating under the Bodhi tree he was visited suddenly by the evil Mara, who attempted to disrupt the meditation and shook the earth with great force. By touching the ground with his hand, the Buddha called on the earth goddess to witness his lifetime of accumulated merits. She then caused water to gush forward, chasing Mara away and enabling the Buddha to achieve enlightenment.