Statue in auction may be from Borobudur

Statue in auction may be from Borobudur

Sri Wahyuni, The Jakarta Post/Magelang, Central Java

It is possible that the Buddha statue withdrawn last week from an
auction at Christie's in New York, following a request from the
government of Indonesia, might have originated from the famous
Borobudur temple in Central Java.

"Seen from its physical structure, as we saw it from the
picture faxed to my office by the Ministry of Education and
Culture some 10 days ago, it does have a similarity to the
Borobudur statues," Borobudur Conservational Office head Dukut
Santoso told The Jakarta Post at his office here earlier this
week.

To decide accurately its authenticity, however, one needed to
do a thorough physical examination of the object, he said.

"We cannot make a decision just by examining the picture,"
said Dukut.

Dukut expressed relief the statue was withdrawn from the
auction.

"Once it is auctioned, it will be very, very difficult for us
to trace its whereabouts. We will lose the chance to examine it,
much less return it to its original place if it is proved
authentic," Dukut said.

The Indonesian government, said Dukut, had good reason to ask
for the cancellation of the auction because there was a strong
possibility that the statue did come from the world heritage
site.

"At the time, Borobudur was about to have its second
restoration in 1973, we recorded that 30 of the Buddha statues at
the temple were missing. If proved authentic it is quite possible
that this is one of the missing statues," he said.

Built between 762 and 824 AD during the Syailendra Dynasty and
comprising 55,000 square meters of andesite stonework, the temple
was in ruins when it was rediscovered during the Dutch colonial
era.

Dutch engineer Theodore van Erp did the first large-scale
restoration of Borobudur from 1907 to 1911, the main objective of
which was to prevent the temple from collapsing.

From 1973 to 1983, a comprehensive restoration was carried out
with support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other international
organizations under the coordination of UNESCO.

In December 1991, the imposing Buddhist temple, which stands
magnificently on a hill in the form of a stepped pyramid of six
rectangular stories, three circular terraces, and a central stupa
(dome enclosing an effigy of Buddha) was listed as a world
heritage site by the UNESCO Heritage Center.

Measuring up to 35.29 meters in height, the 14,161 square
meter Borobudur temple comprises a total 504 Buddha statues.

Of them, 72 are in the three circular terraces of the
Arupadhatu level right below the main stupa, and are called Wajra
Satwa statues. The remaining 432 are at the Rupadhatu level,
which comprises four levels immediately below the Arupadhatu, and
are known as Dyani Budha statues.

One at the Arupadhatu level and 29 others at the Rupadhatu
level, however, were not there at the time the inventory was
carried out prior to the 1973 to 1983 restoration.

"None of their whereabouts is known thus far; not until the
Christie's case emerged," Dukut said.

Buddha statues are differentiated according to their mudra
(positioning of the hands). Those at Borobudur's Arupadhatu
levels are dharmacakra mudra, which describes Buddha as moving
the wheel of the world for its safety.

At Arupadhatu there are four different Buddha statues with
different mudra. The ones in the eastern area are known as
Aksobya and have the mudra of bhumisparsa, which symbolizes the
strength of faith. In the southern area are Ratna Sambawa, with
wara mudra symbolizing passion.

In the western area are Amitaba with dyana mudra symbolizing
meditation, while to the north are Amogasidha, with abhaya mudra
that symbolize courage in the face of danger.

The one at Christie's, as the auction catalog describes, is
suspected to have come from the eastern side of the 3.5 million
ton temple, and is an Aksobya with bhumisparsa mudra.