Nepalese Seated Figure of Sakyamuni Buddha, with Narrative Vignettes

One hand reaches down to touch the earth. Buddhist tradition says the earth answered.

This seated figure of Sakyamuni Buddha, with narrative vignettes, comes from Nepal and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is copper. Buddhists in Nepal commissioned such images for temples and home shrines, as a focus of devotion and a way of earning merit. His right hand touches the ground, the gesture recalling his enlightenment. The other rests open in his lap. A robe worked in dense scrolling relief holds small scenes, and a lotus base lies beneath him. Thirteen inches high and nine wide.

He has nothing further to prove.