Crowned Buddha

This majestic stele of the Buddha was created at a time when the many monastic universities of eastern India, located within the kingdom of the Pala and Sena kings (reigned eighth to twelfth century), were known across the Buddhist world for their art and learning. Seated against a lightly incised throne, with one hand in his lap and the other extended to touch the lotus seat, the once-haloed Buddha, adorned with a tall crown and heavy necklace, exudes an air of impassive serenity. His earth-touching gesture refers to the occasion immediately prior to his enlightenment when, as prince Siddhartha, he called upon the earth to bear witness to his victory over Mara, the evil one of Buddhism. Siddhartha had founded the simple path of Buddhism sometime during the fifth century B.C., after renouncing his princely status, abandoning palatial luxury, and exchanging his crown and regal garments for a simple robe. Ironically, the later Buddhism of eastern India returned to the Buddha the crown and jewels he had renounced, visualizing them as part of his transfiguring radiance.

Pala images of the size, stature, and quality of this crowned Buddha are rare. This stele represents the final efflorescence of Buddhist art in India before the faith disappeared from the country of its origin to survive largely in the adjoining Himalayan regions.

To at least 1973

Mr. and Mrs. Marinos Costelletos [1]

To 1998

Rossi & Rossi, Ltd., London, to 1998

From 1998

Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Rossi & Rossi, Ltd. in 1998

Notes:

[1] Inscription in red ink on back indicates loan to the Brooklyn Museum. According to Curatorial Note 4 in the object record, the object was on loan to the Brooklyn Museum from Mr. and Mrs. Marinos Consteletos until May 18, 1973, when it was released to a shipping company and forwarded to Sotheby's in London.

Freer Gallery of Art Collection

South Asian Sculpture (February 22, 2000 to June 18, 2003)

Beyond the Legacy--Anniversary Acquisitions of the Freer Gallery of Art (October 11, 1998 to April 11, 1999)

Untitled Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, 1969 (From an unspecified date until 1969)

Marinos Costeletos (1934-2022)

Rossi & Rossi, Ltd.