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

India

Tamil Nadu, Nagapattinam

Buddha Seated in Meditation (Dhyanamudra), Chola period, c. 12th century

Granite

160.0 x 120.2 x 56.3 cm (63 x 47 5/16 x 22 3/16 in.)

Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrew Brown, 1964.556

Asian Art

Display Unit 401

This meditating Buddha comes from the coastal town of Nagapattinam in southern India, which was, as a result of settlers from Srivijaya (Indonesia), one of the few places where Buddhism was still flourishing in the twelfth century. The Buddha—with his elongated earlobes, the wheel marks on his palms, the urna between his brows, and the cranial protuberance covered with snail-shell curls—is seated in the posture of meditation, with his hands resting on his lap (dhyanamudra), wearing a seemingly diaphanous monastic garment. As in other images from Nagapattinam, a flame emerges out of the Buddha’s cranial protuberance, probably signifying wisdom. This monumental sculpture carved out of granite originally would have graced a monastic site at Nagapattinam, which is also well known for its Buddhist bronzes. The Tamil inscription covering its back is now no longer legible.

— Entry, Essential Guide, 2013, p. 117.

http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/21023?search_no=29&index=57