Handcrafted Black Granite Buddha Statue – Reclining, 3ft

An unfinished reclining Buddha in Nero Assoluto granite

This is not a complete figure. The reclining Buddha is carved as a fragment — the head, one hand and part of the torso emerging from a smooth, unworked mass, the rest deliberately left as stone. It is a contemporary treatment of the parinirvana, and it asks something different of a garden than a fully resolved statue does: it reads as something uncovered rather than something installed.

The material is Nero Assoluto black granite from Zimbabwe, one of the densest stones used for sculpture. It is uniformly black with no veining, which is what makes the fragment idea work — there is no pattern in the stone competing with the line where carved meets uncarved. The finish is matte with the natural grain left showing, so the transition between the two is a matter of form rather than of polish.

Plinth, setting and commissioning this 3ft Buddha

At 36 inches it is intended for a plinth. A plain, low, minimalist base is right; anything ornate fights the piece. It sits well in a contemporary landscape, against clipped planting or a rendered wall, and it holds up in full sun and heavy rain — granite is the least demanding of the stones here for an exposed position. Give it a clear background and side light rather than a downlight, which flattens the emerging forms.

Every piece is made to order. This one is carved for you by the master sculptors we work with in Jaipur — we develop the design with you, brief the sculptor, and follow it through to delivery at your door. The fragment treatment can be pushed further toward abstraction or resolved into a fuller figure, and it can be carved at other sizes or in white marble. Send us a picture of the setting and we will quote it.