Early Buddhist Art
Artist: unknown
Title: Buddha, standing, traditional image
Material: Sikrari sandstone
Site: Mathura, India
Current Location: Mathura Museum, India
Period/Date: Kushana period (ca. 150 C.E.)
Iconography/Iconology: Traditional standing image of the Buddha in which
he is shown making the gesture of abhayamudra and holding his robe
with his left hand (urnamudra). Abhayamudra is the gesture
of teaching in many early sculptures and literally means "without fear".
It connotes that he is teaching the "absence of fear" over death.
Stylistic Comments: The appearance of the body through the drapery
is a predictor of a standard Buddhist convention that continues to the present
day. The simplicity of form, the naturalness of the cowl around his neck,
and the incised lines demarking the folds of the drapery are characteristic
of the style.
