Handcrafted Bhainslana Black Marble Buddha Statue, Reclining, 3ft

An unfinished reclining Buddha in Bhainslana black marble

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 space than a fully resolved statue does: it reads as something uncovered rather than something installed.

The material is Bhainslana black marble from Rajasthan, a dense, near-black stone with no visible veining, which is what makes the fragment idea work: there is no pattern in the stone competing with the line where carved meets uncarved. It carries a deep mirror polish, so the light runs in broad highlights over the face, the hand and the plain mass alike, and the transition between them is a matter of form rather than of texture.

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 interior, a gallery-like lobby or a covered courtyard, against a plain plastered wall. Marble keeps a mirror polish best out of the rain, so for a garden choose a covered spot such as a verandah, a pergola or a courtyard under a roof. 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 our sculpting team. 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 another stone. Send us a picture of the setting and we will quote it.