Seated Buddha

The Cambodian kingdom of Angkor had exercised, in the period between 1000 and 1200, varying degrees of dominance in northeastern and central Thailand. In the century following that period, however, the political power of Angkor weakened, and in 1351 the Thai people established a new kingdom in central Thailand. Cultural influences flowed in both directions between Cambodia and central Thailand, and it is sometimes not easy to determine where a certain sculpture was made. Rapid religious change complicated the picture. The Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism of Angkor were supplanted more and more by schools of non-Mahayana Buddhism from central Thailand, Burma, and Sri Lanka.

The image is unusual in several ways. Its facial features, for instance the shape of its nose and the low placement of its ears, give it an individuality-a personality-that many other such images lack. Also, most images of this type have (or had) a jet of flame issuing from the top of the head, symbolizing the glory of the Buddha's Enlightenment. This image has no visible signs of ever having had such a flame. Samples taken from this image are currently being tested to determine whether old repairs mask the area where a flame may once have been attached.