Maitreya

A stele statue representing Maitreya. The base is decorated with a framed row of trifid calices, alternating vertical and reverse, contiguous. From top to bottom, the cornice consists of two stepped plain bands (the upper one being bigger) and a row of saw-teeth. The bottom face preserves a tenon, which shows tool marks. Maitreya is depicted frontally with the weight of his body placed on the left leg. His right hand was in abhayamudrā, the left is holding the kamaṇḍalu between the index and the middle fingers. He has a circular ūrṇā, open eyes, a broad nose, and a thin, full mouth. The hair is parted in the middle with continuous, vertical waves from a peak over the forehead, and locks falling over the shoulders. The central knot is rendered with rows of concentric disks and is tied by a ring of beads featuring a frontal stone and a rosette on each side. The nimbus originally showed a plain border and a lotus in the field, remains of which are still visible. Maitreya is wearing a paridhāna and an uttarīya exposing the righ chest and shoulder, and thong sandals with a linking disk decorated with a central stone. The figure is adorned with a short, flat band necklace, a long, multiple strands necklace with central stone, a crossed cord passing over the right armpit with kavacas, and a flat band wristlet.