A large bronze head of Buddha

THAILAND, LAN NA, 15TH CENTURY

Details

A large bronze head of Buddha
Thailand, Lan Na, 15th century
Well cast with large acquiline nose and downcast eyes beneath arched brows, flanked by ears with long pendulous lobes, his hair arranged in neat rows of tightly curled hair, the eyes inlaid with mother of pearl and hardstone, remains of gilding
18½ in. (46.9 cm.) high

Provenance

Joseph Ternbach Collection, New York, acquired in the 1950s

Lot Essay

This impressive head is of the 'lion-type' named by Griswold after the Lion of the Shakyas image in the Mahabhodi Temple, Bodghaya, Northeastern India, the site of Buddha's enlightenment, from which Lan Na art is believed to derive; compare with A.B. Griswold, Dated Buddha Images of Northern Siam, 1959, fig 14., dated 1485.

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