A FINE AND EARLY BRONZE FIGURE OF GAUTAMA BUDDHA WITH COPPER INLAYS Tibet, 13th/14th ct. H. 26 cm Gautama Buddha Sakyamuni, "lion of the Sakya lineage" is depicted in his typical iconographic form, strictly according to the canon as prescribed by the doctrine. As a sign of his supernatural qualities, thirty-two idealised features are assigned to him. The body is clothed by the monk's robe, with the right shoulder usually bare. He sits in the diamond seat, both soles of his feet turned upwards. Buddha's body is strongly built and shows him in the stage of life after his renunciation of asceticism, in the realisation that truth cannot be found through asceticism and mortification of the body, but requires a healthy and well-fed body in order to devote himself to immersion and meditation in full possession of the body's powers. In this state he attained the knowledge of the "Four Noble Truths" and thus the foundations of his teaching. Gautama Buddha holds his right hand in the gesture of invoking the earth (bhumishparsha), as a sign of his enlightenment, and his left hand lies relaxed in his lap. Other signs of his lack of possessions are his cropped hair and his elongated earlobes, which did not recede after he discarded his royal jewellery when he entered the monastic order. Special features he wears include the ushnisha and the urna. The ushnisha is a cranial outgrowth on the crown of the head called the "wisdom knot". The Urna is the point between the eyes from which special rays can emanate. Old South German private collection, assembled prior 1990 Minor wear, very minor old repairs, unsealed