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Buddha of Contentment

From book "My First Ninety Years"
China, late Qing dynasty (18th century)
steatite, whitish-brown (soapstone)
h. 18 cm
MGZ 4758

Symbol of contentment and sensuality, leaning on three books (the Tripitaka); a pair of castanets at the waist (wooden fish, to drive away the evil spirits with its sounds; in his hands the “peach of immortality”, by the feet two ripened lotuses, fruit of earthly food and enlightenment, and on the clothing, engraved cloudlets, symbolising heaven or the immortality of the holy man. As Buddha that brings protective power, the object was passed down in the family.

Literature: Šterk, Slavko. Tilla Durieux and Her Art Collection in Zagreb. Zagreb: Zagreb City Museum, 1986, p. 52