Mandalay, Upper Burma
18th Century
Height 8 1/4" plus custom museum mount
Provenance: Private collection, Honolulu, HI
This magnificent head of the Buddha has been carved from a single piece of marble and would have been part of a larger statue. The face is broad, squarish and flat with little attempt to showing the underlying bone area. This is a feature of the late Ava period. The eyes have a passive expression and the lips are up - turned. The head has a bud-like cranial protuberance or unisha to signify the Buddha's wisdom.
Marble images of Buddha were a specialty of stone carvers of Mandalay, which has two main marble quarries - one in the Saygin Hills north of Mandalay and the other near Kauk-hse, south of Mandalay. The use of black pigment rather then lacquer to decorate the image also suggests an 18th rather than a 19th century dating.
References: Fraser-Lu, S., & D.M. Stadtner, Buddhist Art of Myanmar, Asia Society Museum, 2015.
Lowry, J., Burmese Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2015.
Mandalay, Upper Burma
18th Century
Height 8 1/4" plus custom museum mount
Provenance: Private collection, Honolulu, HI
This magnificent head of the Buddha has been carved from a single piece of marble and would have been part of a larger statue. The face is broad, squarish and flat with little attempt to showing the underlying bone area. This is a feature of the late Ava period. The eyes have a passive expression and the lips are up - turned. The head has a bud-like cranial protuberance or unisha to signify the Buddha's wisdom.
Marble images of Buddha were a specialty of stone carvers of Mandalay, which has two main marble quarries - one in the Saygin Hills north of Mandalay and the other near Kauk-hse, south of Mandalay. The use of black pigment rather then lacquer to decorate the image also suggests an 18th rather than a 19th century dating.
References: Fraser-Lu, S., & D.M. Stadtner, Buddhist Art of Myanmar, Asia Society Museum, 2015.
Lowry, J., Burmese Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, 2015.
