Untitled

Unknown

12th–13th century · Copper alloy · Asian Art

This crowned Buddha image was cast in Lopburi, the Khmer provincial capital located in central (modern day) Thailand in the early centuries of the second millennium. It reflects a new vogue in Buddhism for the crowned and bejeweled Buddha, adornment normally reserved for Buddhist saviors—bodhisattvas—not Buddhas. This reflected a new envisioning of the Buddha that drew on very early notions of the Buddha as a spiritual sovereign, a chakravartin. Eastern Indian models of the Pala period, which are known to have circulated, served as models for Lopburi artists to produce their very Khmer-style versions of this new Buddha-type.

Artist

Unknown

Date

12th–13th century

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

Thailand (Lopburi)

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Iwona and Norbu Tenzing, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2019