Cheap Asian Antiques

who is this a statue of?

3' tall wooden statue i came across and had to pick up. Wondering who it was exactly?... if buddha.. which one?

The statue does not represent a buddha. Buddha statues have several distinctive characteristics. First, a buddha has a bare chest. Second, a buddha is never shown with any jewelry. Third, a buddha does not have fancy clothing - certainly not the extended shoulders of this figure.

Your statue very likely represents a *deva* - a type of non-human being who are generally more powerful, longer-lived, and more content than the average human being.

Devas are sometimes shown wearing ornate skirts - which this statue certainly has. In addition, they are often shown in a prayerful or supplicant pose - again, which this statue has.

You can read about devas at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deva_(Buddhism)

And you can see another image of a deva at:

http://www.buddhanet.net/budart/images/buddha05.jpg

This image has some similarity in overall form to yours.

I can't be certain that it's a deva, but the statue does seem Buddhist in character and its clearly not a buddha, nor is it a bodhisattva.

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