The Hand Gestures That Narrate Buddhist Principles

Abhaya Mudra: The gesture symbolizing Peace,
Protection and Benevolence

A large stucco hand of Buddha
Gandhara, 3rd century
15 in. (38 cm.) high

Provenance
Japanese Collection, acquired in 1990s
Christie's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 16 September, 2008, lot 325

Finely casted, the present sculpture of Buddha's right hand with all five fingers extended in Abhaya mudra (gesture of fearlessness) with fine detailed creases in his palm and fingers consisting of red pigment remains overall. A symbol of reverence, the hand here stands for Buddha himself. It also brings to attention the paramount significance of Mudras in Buddhist art and in the Buddhist religion at large. Mudras are a set of hand gestures symbolizing Buddha's various roles and states of mind. Mudras have often, if not always, been pedagogical tools used to refashion pedagogical religious Buddhist religious doctrine into comprehensible symbolic narratives.
Buddhism reached Gandhara in the third century B.C. The present sculpture from the same time-period makes it a coveted object from the origins of Gandharan Buddhism.