At 36″ this fully 24K gold fire gilded Shakyamuni Buddha statue operates at a completely different scale from a personal altar piece — this is an institutional statue, appropriate for the main shrine of a Buddhist temple or Dharma center, a monastery hall, a dedicated meditation room with sufficient ceiling height, or a significant public or commercial space where a sacred centerpiece is required. The statue was handcrafted in Patan, Nepal by master artisans of the Shakya caste using the traditional lost wax sculpting method — at this scale an extraordinary undertaking, requiring the artisan to carve and maintain structural integrity across a three-foot wax model before the cast is made. The 24K gold fire gilding covers the entire surface, and the face is elaborately hand-painted. Every iconographic detail — the engravings on the robe, the physical characteristics of the Buddha, the precision of the mudras — is executed with the same standard applied to smaller pieces, because the Newar artisan tradition makes no distinction between monastic quality and personal quality: there is only one standard.
For institutional buyers, Dharma centers, or individuals commissioning a piece of this significance, we also produce fully custom Tibetan Buddhist statues to specific iconographic requirements, sizes, and finishes — with photo documentation throughout the production process from wax carving to final gilding before shipping.
Large Shakyamuni Buddha Statue Mudras
Shakyamuni is depicted in full lotus posture with the right hand displaying the Bhumisparsha mudra — the earth-touching gesture — draped over the right knee with the palm facing inward and the fingers extended downward toward the ground. This is the gesture the historical Buddha displayed under the Bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya as he called the earth deity to witness his realization against the challenge of Mara — the most distinctive and exclusively associated mudra in all of Shakyamuni iconography. Explore the symbolism of the Bhumisparsha mudra and other Shakyamuni hand gestures in our complete guide to Shakyamuni statues.
His left hand rests flat in the lap in the Dhyana mudra — the meditation gesture — the posture of unwavering meditative absorption from which the insight that became enlightenment arose. The statue also bears the traditional iconographic markings of the historical Buddha as recorded in the Pali Canon: the ushnisha (crown protuberance), elongated earlobes, urna (third eye of wisdom between the brows), and clockwise-curling hair coils. At 36″ each of these details is rendered at a scale that conveys the full gravity of the tradition behind it.
Authentic, Handmade in Nepal
Every statue and ritual item is handcrafted in Patan, Nepal, using traditional lost wax casting and comes with a certificate of authenticity issued by Nepal's Department of Archaeology, verifying its materials, technique, and origin.
