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

Item id: 446

This is a very unusual 12/13thC Cambodian, or possibly Eastern Thai large standing Buddha or Bodhisattva. He was deaccesioned from the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, and he has museum numbers on the bottom and a sticker on the back. The face and posture are quite animated, and he rediates a great strength and determination. He is quite large for a Khmer period piece of this early date-he stands a full 10 inches not including the base. I put a 7.25 inch Buddha in one photo to give a perspective of his good size. The integral base is made of a terracotta-like material, and is almost certainly a later (but old) addition. The sculpture is in good condition for being 800 years old: the fingertips are worn away, and the head may be re-attached (if it is this was done very long ago: it also may have been constructed this way as part of the original manufacture.) I believe he is solid cast and weighs an impressive 45 ounces. The authentic Khmer Buddhist bronzes you typically see in the price range at which this one is being offered tend to be3 to 5 inches and weigh 5 to 10 ounces at the most. This one is a very uncommon and substantial animated sculpture.