|
|
|
|
|
|
Javanese Standing Buddha (detail) Bas-relief, Java. The Buddha smiles gently. His handsome posture is graceful and sensuous. The simple diaphanous quality of the robe renders the body nearly naked. Its delicate transparency suggests genitalia – an extraordinary trait for Buddha statuary. The lower fringes of the robe also mark exquisite handling. The posture confers a sinuous curve more normally reserved for the female form. 'The weight of the body favours his right foot. This makes the lateral lines of the hips, shoulders and eyes slightly angled. The body thus assumes a faint S-configuration as the hips are shifted somewhat to the right, the shoulders to the left, and then the head leans back to the right again. The technical Sanskrit term for the pose is tribhanga as the body is divided or bent along three (tri) axes (bhanga) while the whole inclines to the vertical.' Vidyasankar Sundaresan, 2000. |
