Country Group: South and Southeast Asia (Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam)

Item id: 10805

This extraordinarily small Thai crystal Buddha, dating to the 15th or 16th century, is a rare survival of both devotion and technical mastery. Carved from a single piece of crystal at a time when tools were limited and the material itself unforgiving, the achievement of this scale is remarkable. The figure carries a complex burial surface that has developed over centuries, with natural encrustations and mineral accretions that quietly testify to its age and history. While it would be tempting to clean these deposits to reveal sharper detail, preserving the piece exactly as found allows the surface to continue telling its story. The face, posture, and form emerge gently through the patina, rewarding close study and patience. Authentic crystal Buddhas of this period are seldom encountered, and examples of this diminutive size are even rarer due to the difficulty of carving crystal at such scale. This is a deeply intimate devotional object whose age, material, and presence come together in a way that is both subtle and profoundly compelling.

Dimensions: 1.375"H x 1"W X .5"D
Weight: 35g