Museum acquires rare Buddha statue
Museum acquires rare Buddha statue
The State Museum has acquired a rare 10th century Buddha statur, suspected to have been stolen from some place in West Bengal. The 16.5 cm high status weights 4.3 kg Given its style, historians believe it to have been built either in Tibet or Myanmar.
Museum sources on Wednesday said Cuttack police had seized the statue last month from one P.B. Giri, a resident of Hasnpur in Midnapure district. Giri was nabbed at a rented house in Cuttack while trying to smuggle out the statue from Midnapur to an unkonwn destination.
Preliminary study has revealed that the statue is made up of an alloy of lead. Copper, zinc and nickel. It has Buddha in sitting posture in Dbhyna mudra adorned with a necklace and a uttrayia over a lotus pedestal. There is scorpion mark at the back and the ear is elongated with auspicious symbols visible throughout the state.
The coiffure (hair dress design) indicates foreign make-up. This type of statue is rare in India, the source pointed out.
