G771 GILDED BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA

THAILAND, AYUTTHAYA PERIOD

16^TH – 17^TH CENTURY

H. (INCL. FINIAL) 92 CMS, 36 INS

A magnificent gilded bronze Buddha seated with the right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) and the left resting in his lap; the face meditative and serene beneath a bun-shaped usnisha rising to a tall flame finial, with extensive gilding over a layer of black lacquer

The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring kingdoms of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well.

For a crowned example of similar date please see fig. 220 (cat. no. 92) in Hiram W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand. The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.

Provenance: Private English collection. Originally acquired from us in November 2002.

Previously with Spink and Son Ltd (reference: A6705).

Acquired from an English banker who had owned it since the 1980s.