Fasting Buddha

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Artist Unknown

Culture Gandharan

Title Fasting Buddha

Date 2nd–3rd century

Medium Schist with traces of gilding

Dimensions Overall: 9 7/8 x 7 x 3 1/8 in. (25.1 x 17.8 x 7.9 cm)

Credit Line Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Accession Number 79.53

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About this Work

This depiction of Buddha in an emaciated state is rare in the Buddhist canon. Twenty such sculptures are known worldwide. The image represents Siddhartha, the future Buddha, seeking enlightenment. During the period in his life portrayed here, Siddhartha engaged in rigorous meditation and severe fasting. His skeletal thinness, hollow belly, and sunken eyes convey the extreme denial of his physical body as he pursued his spiritual quest.

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Provenance research is ongoing for this and many other items in the Eskenazi Museum of Art permanent collection. For more information about the provenance of this artwork, please contact the department curator with specific questions.

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"Fasting Buddha | Collections Online." Collections Online. Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, 2024. https://artmuseum.indiana.edu/collections-online/browse/object.php?number=79.53