Crowned Buddha Seated in a Niche

9th-10th century

This Buddha figure makes the gesture of teaching. Buddhist law, known as dharma, is symbolized by a spoked wheel; when a teacher makes a wheel shape with his fingers and touches it with his other hand, he “turns the wheel of the law,” thereby dispersing the truth. This bejeweled figure might be read as the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, who is said to wear a crown when he preaches in the heavens, or it could be Vairochana, a celestial Buddha who is often represented making the teaching gesture.