Torso of the Buddha

Thai

V&A (Victoria & Albert Museum)

600 - 700

This torso is from one of the earliest kingdoms in Thailand, known only from the most fragmentary inscriptions as 'Dvaravati'. The figure is damaged, missing both lower arms, head and feet. The sculpture represents the standing figure of the Buddha and, in its original condition, would have had both hands raised in the gesture of exposition or disputation. The figure is clad in the unadorned robes of a monk, the waist cloth visible below the curved hem of the outer garment which covers both shoulders and hangs in pleats from the outstretched lower arm. The monastic robes cling to the figure defining its form clearly although, in keeping with the Indian convention this style follows, the anatomical details of gender are absent. As is characteristic of the style of this period, the figure is represented in a strictly frontal posture, with the weight evenly distributed.

• Medium: sandstone
• Dimensions: 50 cm
• Art Fund Grant: £15000 ( Total: £35,000)
• ArtFunded in: 1992
• Vendor: David Knight

Provenance

Gilbert Beattie Collection, Malasyia; Knight family Collection.

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