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G754 ALABASTER RECLINING BUDDHA
BURMA
MANDALAY PERIOD
19TH CENTURY
L. 48 CMS, 19 INS.
MOUNTED ON A POLISHED METAL BASE
A serene, elegant alabaster figure of the Buddha, reclining in parinirvana, the face smiling and serene, his right side supported by a pillow, his right arm supporting his head and his left in a relaxed posture along his side, the surface with traces of old pigmentation.
The subject matter of this image is the passage of the Buddha into Nirvana. He lies down on a royal couch in the sala grove of the Malla kings beside the Hirannavati River. Surrounded by his faithful monks he utters his final words: “Everything is subject to change; strive on without delay”, and at dawn on the following day passed into the great Nirvana.
For a group of related parinirvana Buddhas in bronze, wood and alabaster, see P. 143 – P. 144 and P. 163 – P. 165 in Somkiart Lopetcharat, Myanmar Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Books Co., 2007.
Provenance: Private German collection.
Previously in a private French collection.