Buddha Seated in Meditation (Dhyanamudra), Chola period, c. 12th century, Art Institute of Chicago

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The meditating Buddha, carved from granite during the 12th century Chola period, hails from Nagapattinam, southern India. This coastal town was unique in its flourishing of Buddhism due to settlers from Srivijaya (Indonesia). The statue features elongated earlobes, wheel marks on palms, urna between brows and a cranial protuberance with snail-shell curls. Seated in the meditation posture (dhyanamudra), it wears a diaphanous monastic garment. A flame symbolizing wisdom emerges from its cranial protuberance. Originally, this monumental sculpture would have been placed at a Nagapattinam monastic site and has a Tamil inscription on its back that is now illegible. It is part of the Asian Art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and measures 160 x 120.2 x 56.3 cm. The sculpture was a restricted gift from Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrew Brown in 1964 with the inventory number 1964.556. It is displayed at unit 401 of the museum.