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5. Buddha Sakyamuni Thailand, Dvaravati Kingdom 8th century Bronze, cast by the lost wax method height 40 cm.

Detail: close-up Standing Buddha images with both hands executing the gesture of argumentation have been popular icons in the art of Dvaravati. The present image depicts Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha, in a standing posture, his body distinct through the sheer clinging fabrics of the uttarasangha that covers his shoulders and the ankle-length undergarment. The figure is a masterpiece of understated symmetry. The hands are raised in vitarkamudra, the teaching gesture; the head and cylindrical ushnisa are covered with tiers of tight curls; and elongated earlobes reflect the Buddha’s royal origin. The Dvaravati kingdom was inhabited by the Mon, the original Thai population, who founded their capital, the walled citadel of U Thong, in the central Chao Phya River valley in the sixth century. It became a centre of learning and religion, to which Buddhist monks travelled from distant lands to discourse on the ‘Great Teachers’ scriptures. Here too the first Buddhist school of art in Thailand was established. The present sculpture, a comparatively large piece of the finest quality, is a classic example of Dvaravati bronze casting, exhibiting all the typical characteristics. In addition, it shows similarities to a number of bronze images of the historical Buddha originating from the Mekong Delta in southern Cambodia, in particular the buddhas in the Angkor Borei style. The Mon were innovators, creating some of Southeast Asia’s finest works of art in their own distinguished style, and this early Buddhist sculpture is a superb example of their extraordinary craftsmanship. The physiognomy of its Mon creators is evident in the round face, full lips, and unbroken ridge of the eyebrows. With its majestic presence and elegant body beneath almost transparent textiles, this is an expressive sculpture revealing great inner strength. Provenance: Private collection, U.S.A. Art Loss Register Certificate, Reference S00027867. Thermoluminescense Analysis Report, Oxford Authentication Ltd., Oxford, England, Sample no.: N109e70. M. Thomsen, Ferne Völker Frühe Zeiten. Kunstwerke aus dem Linden-Museum Stuttgart, Staatliches Museum für Völkerkunde, II, Orient, Südasien, Ostasien, Recklinghausen, 1982, p.157, no.E42. P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey. Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, New York, 1997, no.124. E.C. Bunker and D. Latchford, Adoration and Glory. The Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago, 2004, no.23. P. Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, III, Art from Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia, Singapore, 2004, p.136, no.101.

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