The New-born Buddha

400s CE

Medium
gilt bronze with inlays of blue glass and turquoise
Classification
Sculpture
Dimensions
Overall: 19.4 cm (7 5/8 in.); Diameter of base: 6.8 cm (2 11/16 in.); Base: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.)
Culture
China, Northern Wei dynasty (386-534)
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art, Chinese 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

This image of the newborn Buddha is rare and unusual. The common type represents him taking seven steps while proclaiming "I am supreme in the Universe." Here, he is represented as being bathed by the nine Nagas, with both hands down.