A gray sandstone head of Buddha

While there is great variation within the Mon-Dvaravati tradition, the sensitivity paid to the modeling of these facial features is in keeping with the period’s focus on the purity and fludity of form. As expressed by Jean Boisselier in The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, 1975, p. 73, "The school of Dvaravati may stand alongside the great Buddhist artistic traditions of India, so enduring were its innovations and so persuasive its influence on most of the art of Southeast Asia."