Vietnam White Marble Walking Buddha for an Indoor Water Channel, 4 Feet

The Buddha in mid-stride

Most Buddha statues are still. This one moves. The figure walks forward with the left foot planted in front and the right foot set behind, the weight carried forward, so the whole body leans gently into the next step. The right hand is raised at the chest with the palm turned outward in abhaya mudra, the gesture of reassurance that says do not be afraid, and the left arm hangs loose along the robe. The head carries the ushnisha and tight curls, the eyes are lowered, and the robe falls in long, thin folds that follow the line of the stride.

The walking Buddha is the great invention of the Sukhothai kingdom in Thailand, where sculptors gave him a soft, flowing body and a gait that seems almost weightless. It recalls the Buddha returning to earth after teaching his mother in the heaven of the thirty-three gods, and more simply, the teacher walking from village to village. It is the one classical form that has direction, which is exactly why it suits a long space.

Made for the head of a water channel

The idea behind this piece is simple: set the Buddha at the far end of a long, narrow indoor channel, a rill or a stone corridor with water running toward him, and he seems to walk along it toward the viewer. A seated figure is a destination you arrive at. A walking figure gives the whole corridor a sense of travel, and the line of water becomes his path. It works equally well at the end of a spa entrance, an atrium water feature or a long courtyard walk.

At 48 inches the figure reads clearly from the far end of a corridor without crowding a narrow space, since a walking figure is slender, about 16 inches across. The low lotus base lifts him above the water line and gives the stride a stable footing on a ledge or plinth at the head of the channel.

The stone: Vietnam white marble

Vietnam white marble is a cool, milky white with only faint grey clouding, whiter and less creamy than most Indian marbles. Under a soft satin polish, light slides down the long robe folds and along the raised arm without glare, and thin edges such as the fingers and the hem carry a slight translucency. Beside water and stone that coolness keeps the figure crisp rather than warm. Sealed, the stone takes splash and humidity well, and a satin surface wipes clean of mineral spotting.

Carved to your brief

Every statue is carved to order by the sculptors we work with, so the details can follow your space: a taller plinth to raise the figure further above the water, a different height to suit the length of your channel, or the left foot forward instead of the right. Send us the dimensions of your channel or corridor and we will agree the drawing with you before carving begins, then arrange crating and delivery to your door, in India or abroad.