The Samara Regional Art Museum houses a number of images of Buddha Shakyamuni. These sculptures came to the museum from the former collection of the outstanding orientalist Aleksei Matveevich Pozdneev. All statues depict Buddha in different ways: standing, seated, reclining or walking. Furthermore, the position of the hands is of great importance as well and is called “mudra”. One of the sculptures represents Buddha in the lotus position, he touches the ground with his right hand at his right knee. This pose is sometimes called “Buddha defying Mara’s army”: Buddha calls the earth to witness that he has challenged the demon Mara who tempted him and attains enlightenment.

Images of Buddha Shakyamuni were the first Buddhist works of art. There is no generally accepted opinion about when the very first one was created. According to archaeological data, people began to depict Buddha only a few centuries after he had attained parinirvana (final, complete nirvana). Prior to that, there only were symbolic images of the chakras and Buddha’s feet. However, some sources indicate that a statue was created “from life” during Buddha’s lifetime. It is known as the image out of Udayana (Oddiyana). It was created at the request of the King of Oddiyana, an ancient Buddhist country in Northern India. According to the legend, this portrait radiated “divine light”.

Buddhist statues are usually entirely or partly painted. The painting itself, as well as the gilding of the face or the entire figure, are an offering to the Buddha who is depicted in the statue. Heads on metal statues most often are painted in gold. In some cases, the entire statue is covered in gold leaf. In especially valuable statues, the body itself can be covered with gold paint and polished (except for the face), while the clothes are covered in gold leaf. Gold paint is made out of gold that is ground into powder and mixed with glue. When applying gold paint, the surface acquires a soft golden color, and when polished it begins to shine. The process of painting statues is often called “the opening of the eyes”, as special attention is paid to Buddha’s eyes. After painting the eyes, the statue “comes to life”, although it is not enough for it to be fully alive: in order for the statue to help people reach enlightenment, it should be properly filled with rolled mantras, fragrant wood, incense powders, etc. After filling, the statue should be blessed by a spiritual leader — a lama.