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 viewGallery Location
- 225
Collections
DescriptionStatue representing Buddha seated on the Naga.Exhibition HistoryNo known exhibition history at this time.
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.
With Robert Rousset, Paris, by 1930;
Purchased from Robert Rousset by the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1930.
“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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