Thailand

Title

Head of Buddha

Place of origin

Thailand

Period

Sukothai period 1200 - circa 1400 → Thailand

Year

14th century

Media category

Sculpture

Materials used

bronze

Dimensions

26.0 x 16.0 x 16.5cm

Signature & date

Not signed. Not dated.

Credit

Watson Bequest Fund 1963

Accession number

EV1.1963

Location

Upper Asian gallery

Further information

By the time Buddhism reached Thailand, its images were well defined and governed by prescribed canons. In an absorbing story of permutation and evolution, Thai sculptors of the Sukhothai period (1200-1400) created a transcendental and unique statement about the spirituality of Buddha within the canonical framework. The 32 major and 80 minor anatomical characteristics necessary to create a true Buddha image include the cranial protuberance symbolic of Buddha's supernatural wisdom; the elongated earlobes signifying his princely birth; the spiral curls symbolic of his great renunciation of cutting off his princely locks; a nose like a parrot's beak; and rounded chin like a lime or mango stone. The high flame finial which would have been attached to the crown of this figure, an innovation adopted from Sri Lanka, but now synonymous with the classic Thai style, is the Fire of Knowledge that burns away selfhood, ignorance and suffering. Sukhothai sculptors preferred bronze as their medium and achieved their greatest triumphs with it. Motivated by the belief that the more perfect the statue the stronger its power, they were driven to create such distillations of condensed spirituality as that captured here.

'Asian Art', AGNSW Collections, 1994, pg. 182.

Bibliography (10)

Christine France, Art and Australia (Vol. 37, No. 1) 1999, 'A Matter of Taste', pg. 75-81, North Ryde, 1999, 81 (colour illus.).

Jane Hampson, Look Mar 2001, 'The many faces of Buddha', pg. 22, South Yarra, Mar 2001, 22 (colour illus.).

Reginald Le May, A concise history of Buddhist art in Siam, Japan, 1963.

Jackie Menzies, The Art Gallery of New South Wales collections, 'Asian Art - India, South-East Asia, China, Tibet, Korea, Japan', pg. 173-228, Sydney, 1994, 182 (colour illus.).

Jackie Menzies (Co-ordinator), The arts of Buddhism 2001, Sydney, 2001, inside cover (colour illus.).

Jackie Menzies (Editor), The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, Domain, 2003, 325 (colour illus.).

Hal Missingham (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales Quarterly Apr 1964, Domain, Apr 1964, (illus.).

Judith White, Look Apr 2001, 'A landmark for the city', pg. 16-19, South Yarra, Apr 2001, 16 (colour illus.).

Editor Unknown (Editor), Art Gallery of New South Wales picturebook, Domain, 1972, 134 (colour illus.).

Author Unknown, Sunday telegraph 28 Jul 1963, Sydney, 28 Jul 1963, (illus.).

Exhibition history (2)

Sculpture and Ceramics from Thailand (1963), David Jones' Art Gallery, Sydney, Sydney, Jul 1963 -

A survey of Indian art (1967), Fisher Library, University of Sydney, Sydney, 06 Sep 1967–23 Sep 1967