Shakyamuni Buddha Calling the Earth to Witness his Enlightenment (1000–1100s): Art, History and Details

Shakyamuni Buddha Calling the Earth to Witness his Enlightenment (1000–1100s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Carved in a soft stone that approximates ivory, the central image of the historical Buddha at the moment of his enlightenment is surrounded by scenes from his own life, including his death at the top. The scenes are arranged not strictly chronologically, but aesthetically, such that the scenes where he is standing or seated are paired. A prayer written in a 12th-century Newari script indicates that this Indian sculpture was taken to Nepal. Buddhist travelers brought easily transportable personal devotional sculptures out of India to the Himalayas, where they served as models for local artists. Such works were valued abroad for their proximity to the source of Buddhism, founded in India during the 400s BC.

Object facts

• Title: Shakyamuni Buddha Calling the Earth to Witness his Enlightenment
• Date: 1000–1100s
• Culture: Northeast India
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: Kaolin
• Dimensions: Overall: 8.2 x 6.1 cm (3 1/4 x 2 3/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1965.27

A detail from the museum

Kaolinite is a mineral that is actually a type of clay.

Collection credit

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Marcus, Margaret F. “Sculptures from Bihar and Bengal.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 54, no. 8, 1967, pp. 240–262.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.