Country Group:

Item id: 7990

16/17thC Florite Crystal Buddha. Sits 2 inches tall, 2 7/8 inches on custom stand. Authentic period examples are rare.Perfectly stable and sits even. Stand is to protect and to give definition. I bought this piece 25 years ago when authentic ones were available in the marketplace. Likely dug up 40 years ago in the "Hot" or "Hod" district of northern Thailand, an area rich in fluorite and crystal that previously had a number of early temples that were flooded to make a reservoir in the 1960's. In this area they had a tradition back in the 17/18thC of carving Buddhas and Buddhist animal and stupa reliquaries out of crystal and special glass (often had gold mixed in to it), and burying them under temples and stupas to amplify their spiritual energy- there is/was an extensive display of these items in the Chiang Mai Museum in Northern Thailand last time I visited the museum. If you put "reservoir" or "crystal" into the search box you will find some of the other items I've had (and a few I still have) from this same area.