One of the most characteristic statues of the Museum is the great golden Buddha, which enriches the room dedicated to oriental culture. It is in fact one of the representations of the Buddha Amitabha, literally he who possesses limitless light, he who is infinite splendor. The figure appears sitting cross-legged on a double lotus flower pedestal, the overlapping hands rest on the groin with the palms facing upwards, the head is embellished with a polylobed crown. All these elements are lacquered in gold color. The Buddha Amithaba belongs to the celestial world of the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism and, according to the Scriptures, possesses innumerable merits, deriving from past lives, as a bodhisattva, that is, one who has given up his own happiness to help others save himself. Furthermore, distinguishing the celestial Buddha Amitabha from the terrestrial one, Sakyamuni, appears quite complex, by virtue of the fact that the same figurative elements are used for both.