Dimensions: Height 14,4 cm Wide 11 cm Depth 8 cm

Weight: 810,9 grams

The Buddha is seated in vajraparyanka (lotus posture) upon a plain flat base. His right hand is extended in bhūmisparśa mudrā (earth-touching gesture), calling the earth to witness enlightenment, while the left rests in dhyāna mudrā (gesture of meditation) in his lap. He wears a simple monastic robe (saṃghāti) draped over the left shoulder, leaving the right bare, the folds subtly incised.

The facial features, with arched brows, downcast eyes, and a faint smile, together with the smooth modelling of the torso, reflect the influence of early Pāla-period sculpture (8th–12th century). The tightly coiled hair surmounted by a flame finial and the proportioned stillness of the body recall classical prototypes, here reinterpreted in an 18th-century Tibetan context.

The base is sealed and incised with a double-vajra (viśvavajra), a mark of consecration. This indicates the figure was ritually filled (zhung) with sacred substances and texts, thereby transforming it into a living embodiment of the Buddha.

Distinction: While original Pāla bronzes were created in northeastern India between the 8th and 12th centuries and later carried to Tibet, this sculpture belongs to a revival movement within 18th-century Tibetan art. Such works consciously imitated Indian prototypes, reaffirming Tibet’s spiritual and artistic connection to Buddhism’s birthplace, while also serving contemporary devotional needs.

In Tibetan Buddhism, these revival bronzes of Śākyamuni in bhūmisparśa mudrā were central to practice, embodying both the timeless archetype of the Buddha’s enlightenment and the Tibetan desire to preserve and renew Indian traditions in their own religious culture.

The gilded surface, softly worn and rubbed from ritual use, underscores its function as an intimate object of devotion.