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

Item id: 801

A lovely Buddha, although a bit of a mystery. This Buddha is clearly cast in the 15/17thth centuries by Thai artisans. This is evident based on the distinctive casting techniques applied, which were only used in Thailand during that period. The body looks Kamphen Phet style or Early Ayuthaya. The interesting thing is that the head and face have a number of elements which strongly suggest that this piece was made in Burma (often artisans were captured by each side during the centuries of battles between the various kingdoms in Thailand and Burma) or in an area of Thailand while it was under Burmese domination during that time. What makes it even more unusual, is that the influences are primarily Arakan (an area of Burma near India), rather than Shan (the area of Burma next to Northern Thailand and the type of Buddhist art which tends to be found in these crossover pieces). It is also the largest mixed-type piece I have ever come across. The Burmese aspects are- the distinctive flame, the actual shape of the head and face, something about the face – the mouth and chin and plane of the face. The ears are unusual, but they are clearly more Burmese than Thai. The style of these Burmese influences is consistent with the 15th century Arakan art which flourished in Maraku. The bronze on this piece is extremely thin- as if the makers tried to use as little as possible because Bronze was scarce in that area during that time. The result is that multiple areas have cracking, and other areas did not completely make it through the casting process. He also has no bronze base. Sometimes Buddhas like this were buried or melted down. This Buddha was beautiful and esteemed enough to complete with terracotta or some other hard substance much like the clay core, only finer. It completes the lower front leg, one (now partially broken) ear, a small bit of each arm the back of the head, and a small part of the lower back base. I believe that this was done when the Buddha was originally made, and then sometime later was improved upon. All that said, what we have is a large and complete (save one earlobe) Buddha. The condition is otherwise excellent- the only other thing I can find is that it looks like it may have hit something accross the cheek and mouth at one time. He sits 12 inches tall by 6.5 inches wide at the knees, and 13.5 with the custom wooden base. If he had a typical bronze base from this period (either Burmese or Thai) he would be a good 16 to 17 inches tall. He is in the deepest of concentration, in the "Samadhi", or meditation mudraYou probably won’t ever see another one of these!