The figure of infant Shakyamuni stands on a double-lotus base with the right hand pointed towards the earth and the left raised with index finger extended. He is clad in a short robe and a streaming ribbon extends from the back of his head towards the base.
8¾ in. (22.2 cm.) high

Please note this lot is the property of a private consignor.

Acquired from Gallery Ruth Schmidt, Berlin, 1990s.

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Lot Essay

This representation of the standing, newborn Sakyamuni pointing to the sky with his left index finger, and to the ground with his right index finger is described in Asvaghosa's 'Life of Buddha,' translated by Samuel Beal, Sacred Books of the East, vol. XIX, Oxford, 1883, p. 226:
"Upright and firm and unconfused in mind, he deliberately took seven steps...he spoke thus with the fullest assurance: "This birth is in the condition of a Buddha; after this I have done with renewed birth: now only am I born this once, for the purpose of saving all the world."