Buddha with Hands in Gesture of Teaching, Vitarka Mudra

600s

Buddha with Hands in Gesture of Teaching, Vitarka Mudra, 600s. Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati period. Bronze; overall: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund 1958.334 Made during the early phase of Buddhist art production in mainland Southeast Asia, this Buddha wears a plain robe that indicates the artist's awareness of images made at the workshops of Sarnath, on the Ganges River in India. The hem of the lower garment, worn under the monk's robe, elegantly crosses the ankles, and the subtle line at the waist shows where it is secured. Bronze sculptures in Thailand were made by sculpting clay around an iron armature; the clay core remains inside.