ST1242 SEATED ALABASTER JAMBHUPATI BUDDHA

BURMA, KONBAUNG DYNASTY (1752-1885)

CIRCA 1850

H. 32 CMS, 12 ½ INS

Minor wear consistent with age. Traces of gilding in the recesses.

A superb, crowned and jewelled alabaster figure of Buddha, wearing princely robes and seated on a double lotus base with his right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of summoning the earth to witness), the face meditative and serene beneath deeply arched brows and a tall crown enclosing a tiered lotus finial.

Sylvia Fraser-Lu describes the origin of depictions of Buddha as Jambhupati:

‘The idea of representing Lord Buddha in something more splendid than his characteristic monk’s garb is thought to have come from a story where the Master dressed in royal attire to humble a proud overbearing king, Jambhupati, who was threatening one of his followers. The arrogant king was suitably overawed and subsequently converted. Buddha figures in kingly robes have come to be called jambhupati images. This type of Buddha figure is popular throughout Southeast Asia, and had its origins in Indian art belonging to the Pala period (circa A.D. 750-1150)’.

[Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Buddha Images from Burma, Part II: Bronze and Related Metals, Arts of Asia, March 1981]

The Victoria and Albert Museum has an almost identical example. Please see the following link:

https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O81256/seated-crowned-buddha/

Provenance: Private English collection. From the Estate of a West Country gentleman.