Buddha Sheltered by the Serpent King Muchalinda

Former TitleStatue of Buddha

CultureCambodian

Date11th century

MediumGray sandstone

DimensionsOverall: 27 × 19 inches (68.58 × 48.26 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number30-26

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

South and Southeast Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionStatue representing Buddha seated on the Naga.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

No known exhibition history at this time.

Gallery Label

After Shakyamuni Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree, he continued to meditate there for seven weeks. During that period, a storm arose and the rising waters threatened to submerge him. In order to protect him, the serpent king Muchalinda coiled his body beneath the seated Buddha to lift him up above the flood and spread his hood over him to serve as an umbrella.

Provenance

With Robert Rousset, Paris, by 1930;

Purchased from Robert Rousset, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1930.

Published References

“The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art, Kansas City Special Number,” Art News 32, no. 10 (December 9, 1933): 66, (repro.).

The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Handbook of the William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1933), 89, (repro.).

The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, The William Rockhill Nelson Collection, 3rd ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1949), 186, (repro.).

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