Seated Buddha Shakyamuni
LAOS, Seated Buddha Shakyamuni, 19th c., copper alloy, gilding, red lacquer paint, 47.5 x 28.5 x 17.5 cm. MMFA, gift of Elizabeth and Robert Kennell in memory of James Winslow Halls III. Photo MMFA, Jean-François Brière
LAOS
Seated Buddha Shakyamuni
19th c.
Copper alloy, gilding, red lacquer paint
47.5 x 28.5 x 17.5 cm
Gift of Elizabeth and Robert Kennell in memory of James Winslow Halls III
In style and posture, this nineteenth-century Laotian sculpture of Buddha reflects the many cultural influences that shaped the region’s Theravada Buddhist art for millennia. In accordance with the canon of idealized representation for heroes and gods in Thailand, Burma and Laos, he was fashioned with the following features: an egg-shaped head, a parrot-like beak and a mango stone-shaped chin, in addition to arms tapered to resemble an elephant’s trunk. This almost ethereal figure still exudes spiritual potency and awe today.
