Unusual Early Rattanakosin Buddha
Bangkok, Thailand (Siam), late 18th century
Height: 41cm (47cm with stand)
This early Rattanakosin (Bangkok period) bronze image of Buddha has a well-
cast, fine face. The layout and of the image’s robes are classically
Rattanakosin, but unusually, the face has been cast with a Khmer moustache
which since the time of the Khmer has been associated with Kingship. (The well
known twelfth-thirteenth century busts of the Khmer king Jayavarman VII in the
Musee Guimet in Paris and the National Museum of Cambodia are among the
early kingly statues to have this characteristic.) This feature is practically
unknown in a Rattanakosin image.
The right hand with up-curled fingers is also unusual and shows clear Laotian
influence. (Laos at one point was a northern province of Thailand.)
The broad shoulders show Sukhothai period influence as do the full thick arms
the shape of the legs and body and the plumpness of the body in general.
These features suggest the image dates to the late eighteenth century. The
Burmese sacked the Siamese capital at Ayutthaya in 1767 and so a new capital
was established at what became Bangkok shortly after. As many as 1,200
important Buddha images were brought from the war-torn central and northern
reaches of the Kingdom to Bangkok where it was felt they would be safer from
future invaders. They were installed in the city’s new monasteries and temples.
And so early Rattanakosin images did not conform with the stylistic rules
established in the later Rattanakosin period, and this image in particular
appears to ‘borrow’ from Lao and Khmer iconography.
King Rama III (1824-1851) was the first Thai king to attempt to standardise the
iconography of Buddha images. At the King's invitation the prince Patriarch
drew up a list of 44 episodes from the Buddha’s life that were deemed suitable
to be depicted in sculpture. Some were traditional and some were invented, but
it means that Rattanakosin images other than those produced in the early
Rattanakosin period follow standard representations. This image predates
these 44 images on account of its mixed iconography.
Another feature of this image is the band that separates the hair from the face -
this is a more widely-employed Khmer device, adapted by the Thais of Lopburi
and mixed with other influences to create the U-Thong (early Ayutthaya) style.
The image’s plump square face is redolent of Sukhothai and Chieng Saen
iconography and the square face of the Khmer. The long finial became popular
again about 1700 and continued into the Rattanakosin period. Inlaid eyes also
became the norm in the high Ayutthaya period.
The image retains traces of gilding. There are some losses most notably to the
lower left leg which has been in-filled by the wooden base on which the image
sits.
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for
Visual Arts, Stanford University.
Inventory no. 523
Bangkok, Thailand (Siam), late 18th century
Height: 41cm (47cm with stand)
This early Rattanakosin (Bangkok period) bronze image of Buddha has a well-
cast, fine face. The layout and of the image’s robes are classically
Rattanakosin, but unusually, the face has been cast with a Khmer moustache
which since the time of the Khmer has been associated with Kingship. (The well
known twelfth-thirteenth century busts of the Khmer king Jayavarman VII in the
Musee Guimet in Paris and the National Museum of Cambodia are among the
early kingly statues to have this characteristic.) This feature is practically
unknown in a Rattanakosin image.
The right hand with up-curled fingers is also unusual and shows clear Laotian
influence. (Laos at one point was a northern province of Thailand.)
The broad shoulders show Sukhothai period influence as do the full thick arms
the shape of the legs and body and the plumpness of the body in general.
These features suggest the image dates to the late eighteenth century. The
Burmese sacked the Siamese capital at Ayutthaya in 1767 and so a new capital
was established at what became Bangkok shortly after. As many as 1,200
important Buddha images were brought from the war-torn central and northern
reaches of the Kingdom to Bangkok where it was felt they would be safer from
future invaders. They were installed in the city’s new monasteries and temples.
And so early Rattanakosin images did not conform with the stylistic rules
established in the later Rattanakosin period, and this image in particular
appears to ‘borrow’ from Lao and Khmer iconography.
King Rama III (1824-1851) was the first Thai king to attempt to standardise the
iconography of Buddha images. At the King's invitation the prince Patriarch
drew up a list of 44 episodes from the Buddha’s life that were deemed suitable
to be depicted in sculpture. Some were traditional and some were invented, but
it means that Rattanakosin images other than those produced in the early
Rattanakosin period follow standard representations. This image predates
these 44 images on account of its mixed iconography.
Another feature of this image is the band that separates the hair from the face -
this is a more widely-employed Khmer device, adapted by the Thais of Lopburi
and mixed with other influences to create the U-Thong (early Ayutthaya) style.
The image’s plump square face is redolent of Sukhothai and Chieng Saen
iconography and the square face of the Khmer. The long finial became popular
again about 1700 and continued into the Rattanakosin period. Inlaid eyes also
became the norm in the high Ayutthaya period.
The image retains traces of gilding. There are some losses most notably to the
lower left leg which has been in-filled by the wooden base on which the image
sits.
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for
Visual Arts, Stanford University.
Inventory no. 523
