Some of the earliest paintings and sculptures of the Buddha have been discovered in Ajanta, a remote region of India. There along the banks of the river Waghora archeologists have discovered many ancient Buddhist shrines hewn out of solid rock. In those rock-cut shrines a large number of massive stone sculptures and intricate wall paintings have been revealed. These early icons of the Buddha at Ajanta give us our earliest glimpse into what he may actually have looked like. Indeed the icons at Ajanta, wherein he is seen delivering his teachings, sitting in meditation, standing, and sometimes reclining in a peaceful sleep have set the standards for the depiction of the Great Buddha by artists throughout Asia, from India and Tibet to China and Japan.

As the culture of Buddhism spread throughout Asia for centuries, the artists of each country to which it spread immortalized the figure of the Great Buddha through sculpture and painting. The Buddhist doctrine of ahimsa (non-violence) for which he is so benevolently known, has been portrayed by artists and sculptors alike through the serene and tranquil look that eternally adorns the Great Buddha's face.

In time the form of buddha in art and sculpture has spread throughout the world to such an extent that his figure has become synonymous with our feelings of peace, grace, compassion, self-awareness, beauty, serenity, distinction, and elegance.

Contemporary interest in the teachings of the Great Buddha and the art and sculpture that surrounds his figure is rapidly growing throughout America and Europe. Indeed, there is a growing demand for art and sculpture depicting the Great Buddha in his classic splendor and beauty that is presently emerging and inundating the world. Today, Asia's finest artists and craftsmen are meeting that demand by producing exacting images of the Great Buddha, as did their ancestors and their ancestors before them, in water color, stone, sandalwood, bronze, jade, lapis, gold, silver, and other exotic materials.

Our curators are constantly searching throughout Asia for the finest Buddhist art available. What was once confined to the rock-cut shrines of Ajanta or the monasteries in Tibet or the Rinzai Zen Monastery of Daitokuji in Japan is now available through Silk Elephant to hallow your home.

As the anonymous monk once said, "Let not the face of the Great Bud-dha fade beyond our sight. Were it not for the peace that he has shown in us all, then the value of life in this world would be but that of a palm of sand."