A large gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Thailand, Ayutthaya period, 15th century

European Private Collection, acquired 27th October 1982.

Christie's Paris, 13th December 2017, lot 202.

Carlton Rochell, New York.

This superbly cast life-size bronze sculpture of Buddha epitomises the highest quality creations of the Ayutthaya court in the 15th century. It radiates serenity and compassion, while featuring many of the common attributes of the Buddha: elongated earlobes, symbolic of the life of luxury the Buddha led before renouncing worldly possessions; lowered eyes, conveying compassion, and his forward facing palm in the gesture of abhaya mudra—meaning “fear not”—which gives protection and reassurance to the worshipper.

The Buddha's face is depicted in a state of serenity with half-closed eyes, long aquiline nose, prominent lips, elongated earlobes and tight hair curls.

The kingdom of Ayutthaya, founded in 1350 was a powerful state until its destruction by the Burmese in 1767. The city of Kamphaeng Phet was known for foundries that produced Buddhist bronzes of the highest and finest quality during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Bronze Buddhist figures were created in large number, but only a small number of this size and quality is recorded in museum and private collections.

Another life-size bronze standing Buddha of similar form, size and iconography is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, gift of Cynthia Hazen Polsky (object number 1991.423.5). See also a slightly smaller example in the collection of Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, donated by the Arthur M. Sackler Foundation (accession no. MH 2012.40.1).