THAI SEATED BUDDHA

BRONZE, COVERED WITH GILT AND LACQUER

RATTANKOSIN STYLE

CIRCA EARLY 19^TH CENTURY

45 cm / 18” high w/base

EXHIBITED: Ithaca College Museum of Art, Ithaca, New York ,spring 1971

Catalog exhibition entitled ‘Art of Thailand.’ Item 49 : Loan number 403.70L

DESCRIPTION: An adorn Buddha seated in bhumisparsha-mudra* pose on a stylized stepped lotus seat supported by a low table wearing a sanghati leaving his right shoulder bear; his hair and usnia arranged in rows of small round curls. Attachment loops for a separately cast nine tiered royal umbrella fastened to the base behind. An iconographical detail is that all the fingers and toes are of the same size. This apparent anomaly is in conformity with the Digha Nikaya; a Pali text known as ‘The Dialogues of Buddha’. The Pali commentary specifies that among the 32 iconographic items mentioned are: that the four fingers of both hands and the five toes of each foot be the same length.

*It is thought that on the eve of his Enlightenment the Buddha was tempted by Mara. To dispense the distracting vision, the Buddha moved his right hand from the meditative position to his knee, pointing downward to “call the Earth to witness” and testify his worthiness to triumph over evil. This gesture represents enlightenment.