The figure of Maitreya, the Future Buddha, is likewise rendered in a distinctively Hellenistic manner, with full mustache, long curly hair, and heavy pleated robes (cat. no. 2). The left hand probably once held a water pot, one of Maitreya’s identifying attributes. The Hellenic features are especially apparent in a profile view of the face (cat. no. 2.2).
Similarities can be drawn with a smaller stone sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Both sculptures emphasize the upper robe, covering the left shoulder, and falling into a pattern of wide, cascading folds just above the bent right knee. Likewise, the fall of the lower robe is given much emphasis by beautifully scalloped folds along the right knee and by sharp, angular folds along the left, straight leg. The upper robe ends with a prominent tassel on the bodhisattva’s left side, much like that in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts sculpture noted above.
The ornaments include a bejeweled torque, long necklaces with amulet pendants, and a large upper armlet on the right arm. The bodhisattva’s sandals are beaded and well designed with lion-headed clasps. Flower medallions on the sides of the bodhisattva’s platform are similar to those in The Metropolitan Museum Maitreya noted above (cat. no. 2.3).
