BIRMANIE, EPOQUE PAGAN, XIEME-XIIEME SIECLE

This fine crowned Buddha figure from the Pagan period (ca. 1050 – 1287), named after its capital, stands at almost life size. It was likely once placed in its own shrine, originally gilded and painted. The most distinctive iconographic feature is his elaborate crown. Crowned and bejewelled Buddhas became popular in northeastern India during the Pala period under the increasing influence of Vajrayana Buddhism. It symbolized the spiritual sovereignty of the Buddha. Its concept spread to neighbouring Pagan and further over the mainland of Southeast Asia to the Khmer empire around the same time. A comparable one is in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, recently published in Arts of Asia, by I. de Castro, ‘The Linden-Museum: The World in Stuttgart’, Hong Kong, March-April 2016, p. 116.