Buddhist Goddess Identification

[Valerie J Roebuck]

Ven. Tantra writes:

> Could any list members kindly offer identification of
>the Buddhist Goddess statue found at the following
>location?
>
>
>http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/troyoga?d&.flabel=fld3&.src=ph
>
It's a stone sculpture of PrajñApAramitA, the Goddess of the Perfection of
Wisdom, from eastern Java, c. 1300 CE. The Dharmacakrapravartana mudrA is
characteristic of this Goddess, and the palm-leaf manuscript, on the lotus
whose stem she holds, represents the PrajñApAramitA sUtra.  Because of the
individuality of the face of the Goddess, some think it is also a
"portrait" of Dedes, a queen of the 1st half of the 13th century.

This statue is quite widely reproduced: e.g. two excellent colour
illustrations can be found in Dietrich Seckel, The Art of Buddhism,
Methuen, London, 1964, pp. 236-239. It's in the Rijksmueum voor
Volkenkunde, Leyden.

Valerie J Roebuck
Manchester, UK