Unknown Maker, Tibetan

A high level of craftsmanship is seen in this work’s intricate casting, the repeating lotus patterns on the base, and the details on the garment edges. Chinese and Tibetan inscriptions identify it as a portrayal of Buddha Dipankara “made on an auspicious early autumn day in the dwelling place of monks, the great Mindoling monastery, in the first year of the great Kangxi emperor.”

The Buddha Dipankara lived before the historic Buddha (Gautama) and was one of his teachers.Seated in a meditative pose, Dipankara’s hands are raised in the dharmachakra mudra, which represents turning the wheel of transformation, the endless cycle of rebirth.