A BONE APRON ORNAMENT OF THE FIVE PRESIDING BUDDHAS


NEPAL, 18TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61720 15 cm (6 in.) high
|尼泊爾 十八世紀 五方佛法衣骨片 By 1st century BCE, carved stupa railings depict Shakyamuni seated in heaven, communicating a buddha's existence on multiple planes. Mahayana develops an expansive view of the cosmos, identifying parallel universes each with inhabiting Buddhas. This coalesces into a system of Five Directional Buddhas encompassing the universe. All deities are subsequently codified into belonging to the family of one of these five Presiding Buddhas. This intricate bone apron ornament depicts all five with corresponding hand gestures. From top to bottom, they are Amoghasiddhi, Amitabha, Vairocana, Akshobhya, and Ratnasambhava. The carver has deftly linked all five with a single bifurcating lotus stem, poignantly symbolizing the unified Buddha-essence they manifest.Provenance James Defelice