Buddha Shakyamuni

This Buddha has an ornate halo decorated with flowers and an inner ring of lotus petals. Traces of paint show that the figure was once brightly coloured (not shown in this scan). The style of the decoration and drapery suggests that the figure probably came from the cave temple complex at Xiangtangshan in Northern China. These features, together with the delicately carved, rounded face, show a masterful Chinese interpretation of the Indian Gupta dynasty style. Possibly from Xiangtangshan, Hebei Province, North China.