Medallion-shaped votive tablet with inscription
Buddha seated in Bhumisparsa mudra (gesture of calling the earth to witness) with two figures in adoration.
Terracotta
Burma/Myanmar; Pyu culture: 7th–9th Century
BC 2004.1.3; Northern Illinois University
Moore Collection
This votive tablet in shape of a medallion shows the Buddha beneath a trefoil arch supported by two pillars and surmounted by a sikhara and a stupa with streamers. Above the arch, leaves of the Boddhi tree emerge. The Buddha is seated cross-legged on a double lotus throne. He holds his left hand on his lap when his right hand is in the gesture of calling the Earth Goddess to witness. He is flanked by two kneeling figures. Above them are two small stupas. Votive tablets of this shape are quite rare and this one may date from the seventh or early eighth century. The Indian script corroborates a particularly early date for this piece.
