A DISTINGUISHED DEPICTION OF THE BUDDHA PREACHING THE FIRST SERMON AT SARNATH, CAMBODIA, 10TH CENTURY

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A DISTINGUISHED DEPICTION OF THE BUDDHA PREACHING THE FIRST SERMON AT SARNATH, CAMBODIA, 10TH CENTURY Superbly carved seated in pralambapadasana on a stepped throne with his feet resting on a lotus blossom. The hands held before the chest in dharmachakra mudra, dressed in a voluminous monastic robe with deep u-form and scrolling folds. The face of a meditative expression with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched brows, flanked by ears with pendulous lobes, and hair arranged in tight snailshell curls over the domed ushnisha surmounted by a jewel-form lotus bud. The Buddha is framed by an exceptionally well-carved, stylized bodhi tree. The reverse intricately carved in relief to depict a dharma wheel, the stylized spokes centered by a flower head, and the stout trunk depicting a recumbent deer below scrolling vines. Dimensions: Height 40 cm The Buddha preaching his first sermon in a deer forest at Sarnath, north of Bodhgaya, where he had experienced enlightenment some weeks prior, is a popular subject Buddhist art. This moment, known as the Dharmachakra Pravartana or Turning of the Wheel of the Law, marks the foundation of the Buddhist sangha and the beginning of the Buddha’s teaching career. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related Cambodian stone figure of Buddha, 45.1 cm high, in the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, object number 95.069.017.

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