Burmese Buddha Bhaishajyaguru In Gilded Wood

Image of the Buddha Bhaishajyaguru (Master healer, Medicine Buddha) in gilded wood, black lacquer with decorations and ornaments of glass beads, Burma (Myanmar), Konbaung period, 18th/19th century. An unusual representation due to its quality, the richness of its decorations as well as the position of the hand in varada mudra holding the fruit of the myrobalan, this iconography is unique to that of Bhaishajyaguru. Indeed, the majority of Burmese Buddha images are represented in the position of taking the earth to witness, the bhumisparsha mudra (Hand touching the earth, palm glass the inside) thus depicting the historical Buddha Sakyamuni. Burma is a very predominantly Theravada country and this school does not usually include the Medicine Buddha who is of Mahayana affiliation. This is therefore a curiosity, a rare example of the influence of Great Vehicle Buddhism. Compare with a similar image from the Avery Brundage collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco under inventory number B72S1. Also compare with a copper alloy example from the Collections of the China and East India Company (Dispersed in 2021). H 81 cm x W 33 cm x D 21 cm Provenance: Claude de Marteau Collection Sold with certificate of provenance. See this Burmese Bhaishajyaguru Buddha in gilded wood in full screen mode on Vintage Addict