Standing figure of the buddha

Physical description

This image depicts the standing Buddha dressed in the robes of a Burmese monk - open mode of bare right shoulder with a partial covering by the third garment falling in cascades down the front and ending in voluminous folds which his hand holds open on his left side. His right hand is placed across his chest. His hair, the sparkling fillet and unisha resemble a close fitting cap finishing in a bulbous finial. He stands on an open lotus bud which is in turn supported by an elaborate sparkling waisted octagonal base.

Place of Origin

Burma (made)

Date

late 18th century - early 19th century (made)

Materials and Techniques

Carved in teak, overlaid with black thitsi-lacquer (Melanorrhoea usitat) and gilt. Partly decorated in the relief moulded thayo and glass inlay hman-zi shwei-cha technique.

Dimensions

Height: 213 cm overall, Height: 156 cm of Buddha, Width: 62 cm at widest part

Descriptive line

Burmese teak lacquered and gilded Buddha. Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885). Depicted standing in monk's robes on an elaborate base partly decorated with mirror work. ca. late 18th/early 19th century.

Production Note

This sculpture was reportedly obtained from the Moulmein Pagoda in Amherst, between 1840-1845 by a captain in the sevice of the East India Company. This may have in fact been the Kyaikthanlan Pagoda at Moulmein which R. Kipling famously described as the Moulmein Pagoda.

Materials

Glass; Clay; Gold leaf; Pigment; Ash; Thitsi lacquer; Teak

Techniques

Carving; Gilding; Colouring; Glass-working

Collection code

SSEA