Buddha Seated in Meditation

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This majestic Buddha is one of the finest products of sixteenth-century Sri Lankan Buddhist art. The figure is seated on a lotus-vine pedestal, deep in meditation. Numerous auspicious marks (lakshana) on his body signify his Buddhahood. Convention dictates thirty-two mahapurusalakshana and eighty lesser marks, such as the forehead mark (urna), flame protuberance (ushnisha), extended earlobes and locks of hair, and lotuses on the hand and feet.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.

Metropolitan Museum of Art