Buddha Possibly Vairochana in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2008

Buddha, possibly Vairochana (Piluzhena)
Tang dynasty (618-907), early 8th century
Gilded bronze

Accession # 43.24.3

The type of teaching gesture in which thumb of the proper right hand touches the little finger of the left, suggests that this sculpture represents Vairochana, a transcendent manifestation of the Buddha Shakyamuni, who played an important role in the early Esoteric tradition that became popular in China in the 8th century. The sculpture may have been the central icon in a larger grouping of figures designed to represent a three-dimensional mandala.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.