A collector’s guide to Buddhist sculpture

Anthropomorphic images of the Buddha, the enlightened being who lived and taught in south Asia sometime between the 6th and 5th centuries B.C., originated in northern India and present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan in the 1st century A.D. Over time, sculptural representations of Buddha and the associated pantheon of Buddhist deities became an important artistic tradition in nearly every culture between Afghanistan and Japan.

Today, Buddhism is one of the five largest global religions, with around 500 million adherents. Although many enthusiasts, scholars and collectors of Buddhist sculpture are drawn to the religion, others simply appreciate its rich history, encompassing more than 2,000 years of teachings and art.

Buddhist art encapsulates diverse traditions across millennia and throughout the world. As a result, the range of sculpture to explore is extraordinarily wide. Here, we offer some expert tips for those seeking to identify and study the finest examples.

Not surprisingly, given the far reach of his teachings, the Buddha, bodhisattvas, and other Buddhist deities have been interpreted widely, in many different styles and materials. To begin to be able to distinguish between cultures, styles and historical periods, one should view as many examples of Buddhist sculpture as possible.

Among the many fine collections in Asia are the Tsz Shan Monastery Buddhist Art Museum in Hong Kong, the Capital Museum, Beijing, Japan’s Tokyo National Museum and the Indian Museum in Kolkata. In the United States, visits to institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Norton Simon Museum (Pasadena), the Cleveland Museum of Art and the National Museum of Asian Art (Washington, D.C.) provide in-depth insight across a range of categories. In Europe, the Musée Guimet in Paris, Berlin’s Museum für Asiatische Kunst, the British Museum in London, the Museum Rietberg in Zurich and the Tibet Museum in Gruyères all have significant holdings of Buddhist art.

Great reference books are also worth seeking out. Two definitive works are Ulrich von Schroeder’s authoritative Indo-Tibetan Bronzes and Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, which are carefully organised by type.

Another very useful source of information is Himalayan Art Resources — a website run by one of the world’s leading Himalayan art scholars, Jeff Watt — which catalogues tens of thousands of images and serves as an excellent starting point for research.

For more than two millennia, artisans have used stone, stucco, terracotta, wood, lacquer and metals such as bronze, gold and silver to create images of Buddhist deities.

Because certain materials were favoured in particular countries, identifying the medium can help anchor where and when a work was made. For example, the ancient region of Gandhara in Afghanistan and Pakistan favoured the sculptural quality of schist and stucco, whereas the medieval Nepalese were among the finest bronze casters in the world.

Today, some of the most revered Buddhist sculptures are gilt bronzes, with examples from certain time periods being considered particularly important. These include early Ming dynasty sculptures from the reigns of the Yongle and Xuande emperors; the gilt bronzes of 15th-century Tibet; Nepalese sculptures from the Licchavi and Malla periods; and objects from the early Qing dynasty.

When considering adding a piece to your collection, it is important to remember that, given their age and ritual use within the culture, many Buddhist sculptures will have undergone some form of wear and possibly restoration. Always consult a specialist to learn more about this. Different materials have varying levels of durability. Bronze and stone are the hardiest, while stucco, terracotta and lacquer can be difficult to preserve.

Spending time with a work of Buddhist sculpture can reveal many important details, not only regarding the subject, but also its maker. Buddhist art is rich in symbols and iconographies representing Buddha’s dharma (teachings) to guide practitioners on their path to enlightenment. Meaning can be found in many aspects of a Buddhist sculpture, such as in the figure’s physical features, postures (asanas) and hand positions (mudras), as well as any objects or symbols accompanying it.

Artisans paid meticulous attention to each detail of their sculptures, with the result that every side, angle and feature of an authentic Buddhist sculpture is exquisitely executed.

When forgers make copies of a sculpture, they generally do so with the aid of published references, which typically only show the front of the object. They then have to recreate the back and underside of the work from their imaginations, often resulting in inauthentic or disjointed elements. For example, the drapery of a Buddha’s robe might fold strangely, the jewellery of a bodhisattva won’t sit properly, or the attributes they hold in their hands are misunderstood. By contrast, for an artisan producing an original, every aspect of the work is equally important.

Notice the hands, feet, jewellery and drapery of a sculpture, as those are the hardest parts to model. If any of them seem poorly rendered, it’s a sign that, at the very least, the work is not of the highest quality.

A rich provenance can also sometimes help to ensure authenticity. If a work is from a prestigious collection, or has been published by a well-known scholar, it has in many cases already gone through a vetting process.

Most of the artists who created Buddhist sculptures were anonymous and did not sign their work. On certain occasions, however, sculptures are marked with inscriptions that indicate when they were made — during the reign of a certain emperor, or in the lifetime of a particular Tibetan lama (teacher). These works are highly prized.

Inscriptions can provide additional historical context and insight into the lives of those who revered the figure. Look out for inscriptions stating that the object belonged to the collection of Naga Raja (not to be confused with the mythological serpent king, Nagaraja), a western Tibetan noble-born monk of the 10th-11th century, who amassed an impressive number of Buddhist sculptures. These represent the earliest recorded collecting history in the field, and many are now in museums.

As with all great art, market trends for Buddhist sculptures can fluctuate, with different periods or styles rising in popularity over time. New insights offered by scholarship can also have an influence. But exemplary pieces are timeless.

The level of quality in a Buddhist sculpture is based on a number of factors, including the stylistic modelling of the figure and its presence, the rarity of the subject and the skill of the artist. When considering a price point at which to buy, collectors should always seek the highest-quality work they can afford.

Art d’Asie is on view 6-9 December 2025 at Christie’s in Paris