Look at his smile, almost shy and at the same time so peaceful. His lips are inlayed with silver. The little Buddha´s eyes are big and almond shaped, tin inlays edges the eyelids. A silver “urna” shines on his forehead. It symbolizes his third eye, an eye of wisdom. The ears have long lobes, the insignia of royalty. He is seated on a double lotus throne, the sacred flower. It looks like he is floating with the lotus being reflected in the water. The Buddha figure is seated in a position of meditation with crossed legs and the soles of the feet turned upwards.

He is far away from home, the figure was found at the Iron Age settlement at Helgö in Uppland, Sweden. He was made in India probably during the sixth century and probably in the Swat Valley. How he got here nobody knows. Maybe he was transported along the Silk Road to Europe and further north by a merchant as a gift to the prosperous inhabitants of Helgö.

See more of my favourite photos in this <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/historiska/sets/72157624849203427/">set</a>. Text: Inga Ullén, <a href="http://kulturarvsdata.se/shm/media/html/16520" rel="nofollow">Photo by Sören Hallgren. </a>

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