Object Details
Label
With one hand raised in the gesture of protection and the other holding the folds of his monastic robe, the Buddha stands in majestic serenity upon a lotus pedestal. His cranial wisdom bump is covered with small round curls, while a small jewel, now missing, was inset into the round mark between his brows, another sign of his superhuman perfection. The tight flat folds of the lower ends of his robe are typical of eleventh-century work under the Pala-Sena rulers of eastern India.
Provenance
Reportedly 1968-1992
David R. Nalin purchased in East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh) [1]
From 1992
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of David Nalin [2]
Notes:
[1] David R. Nalin is an American physiologist who worked at the Cholera Research Hospital in Dhaka when it was part of Pakistan from 1967 until the Liberation War of 1971, and then again in 1972 after the creation
of Bangladesh. Nalin reported that he purchased the sculpture in May 1968, when he worked at the Cholera hospital, see tax form 8283, December 3, 1992, copy in object file. Nalin employed Peter Marks Works of Art to manage his collection. In 1989, Marks provided the Freer Gallery of Art with a "summary of acquisition, ownership, and history" relating to a sculpture now in the collection of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra (NGA89.1365), copy in object file. In the document, Marks instructed that the contents of the document should "apply to any object in the [Nalin] collection." The summary reports that in 1969, Nalin shipped his collection from Dhaka to Chittagong then onto Karachi and finally onto New York. Nalin "assumed[d] that the customs agent[s] handled all clearances and declarations according to the laws and agreements in effect at the time."
In 1971, he loaned this sculpture and several others to the conservation laboratory at The Fogg Art Museum of Harvard University for scientific analysis. The sculpture was treated in 1976, see "Center for Conservation and Technical Studies: Record of Treatment, Standing Buddha, 28.1976," copy in object file.
[2] See deed of gift, July 21, 1992, copy in accession file.
Research Completed November 12, 2022
Collection
National Museum of Asian Art Collection
Exhibition History
A Collector's Passion: South Asian Selections from the Nalin Collection (June 12 to November 9, 2009)
Sculpture of South Asia and the Himalayas (May 4, 1988 to July 9, 2017)
Previous custodian or owner
Dr. David R. Nalin (born 1941)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. David R. Nalin
Date
11th century
Period
Pala-Sena dynasty
Accession Number
S1992.55
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
H x W x D: 48.4 x 14.3 x 13.3 cm (19 1/16 x 5 5/8 x 5 1/4 in)
Origin
Bangladesh
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
casting
metal
Buddhism
Buddha
lotus
Pala-Sena dynasty (750 - 1100)
Bangladesh
abhaya mudra
South Asian and Himalayan Art
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_S1992.55