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Head of Buddha
early 800s
- Medium
- volcanic stone
- Classification
- Sculpture
- Dimensions
- Overall: 30.6 cm (12 1/16 in.)
- Culture
- Indonesia, Java, Borobudur, Sailendra Period, 9th Century
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Indian and Southeast Asian Art
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
Serenity, tranquility, and compassion are expressively conveyed in the gently modeled, highly porous black stone of the volcanic island of Java. Borobudur, the massive, multitiered stone structure from which it came, still stands as one of the most impressive Buddhist monuments in the world. Concentric walkways with carved pilgrimage scenes lead up to vast terraces that originally had more than 500 life-size Buddha images, many of which still remain.
