Mudra: A Study of Symbolic Gestures in Japanese Buddhist Sculpture

by Ernest Dale Saunders

Overview

Appearing for the first time in paperback and illustrated with line drawings, diagrams, and 26 half-tone plates, this study of the iconographic aspect of Japanese Buddhist sculpture surveys the significance of eight principal and six secondary hand gestures (mudra), in addition to the postures (asana), such as the "lotus," and the symbolic attributes. A pictorial index helps the reader in identifying the gestures.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691018669
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	03/21/1985
Series:	Bollingen Series , #100
Edition description:	REPRINT
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Editorial Reviews

"A good reference volume for the study of Buddhist art, symbolism and theory of symbols. Despite the fact that the subject is rooted in Indian art, the reference to Japanese sources opens the field to little known works which are hidden behind a language barrier."—-Alfred Bloom, Harvard Divinity School Bulletin

From the Publisher

"Mudra is filled with a wealth of information about the basic symbols of Buddhist sculpture, their possible origins, and their manifold meanings."

The Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism