Iron Man (Buddhist statue)

Sensational newspaper articles presented it in fresh and cheerful headlines under the "Science" section as a Buddha with extraterrestrial origin and a Nazi history.

"[4][5] But even the authors of the meteorite theory expressed several concerns and remarked that their assessment of it being carved in the eleventh century is mere speculation.

[6] The Buddhologist from Dongguk University, Achim Bayer, published the widely acclaimed article The Lama Wearing Trousers examining twelve stylistic characteristics which, in his view, indicated the statue was extremely unlikely to have originated in Tibet.

"[7] The German historian and Tibetologist Isrun Engelhardt (1941–2022) from the University of Bonn tracked down the origin of the sculpture and largely deciphered its secret.

Roerichs painting "The Order of Rigden Jyepo", which depicts the mythological Shambhala King, who, according to prophecies, will engulf the world in an apocalyptic war may have served as a template for the sculpture.