Ancient Asia, Africa and Oceania

This is the reproduction of a 19th-century bronze from Cambodia, the statuette Ajuthia of teaching Buddha.

Sitting up straight and cross-legged, the Buddha put his hands flat one over the other.

The joint hands on his lap in this position indicate that he is meditating. It is indeed a mûdra, a codified gesture that gives an indication of the sense of the whole work.

Recognisable thanks to certain traits that distinguish him from ordinary mortals, the Buddha is here characterised by a cranial protuberance (usnisa) under his curly hair.