ST957 BUST OF BUDDHA MUCHALINDA

KHMER

ANGKOR PERIOD

BAYON STYLE

LATE 12^TH-EARLY 13^TH CENTURY

H. 28 CMS, 11 INS

A greyish brown sandstone bust of the Buddha, meditative and serene, with a tiered conical usnisha and heavy earrings, protected by the seven-headed canopy of the naga Muchalinda

The naga (a snake deity or spirit) is a frequent subject of Khmer mythology. The naga Muchalinda protected the Buddha during a torrential rainstorm on the sixth day after his enlightenment. For a related example (without earrings) please see catalogue no. 94 in Angkor et dix siècles d’art Khmer, Exhibition catalogue, Paris: Reunion des Musées Nationaux, 1997.

Provenance: Private northern English collection (old label on stand).