Seated preaching Buddha

Thailand

7th-9th century

Bronze

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A seated bronze figure of the Buddha is depicted in a meditative pose on a dark rectangular base. The figure has a serene expression and is adorned with a robe draped over one shoulder. This upright seated Buddha demonstrates the mixing of Mon-Dvaravati style with the earliest pan-Asian conventions. The depiction has characteristically plump lips, described as bee-stung in Indian texts from about the 400s CE. Yet his wide mouth, flat nose, continuous eyebrows, and wide-set eyes are hallmarks of the style during this Thai kingdom (c. 600s–1000s). The Buddha’s right hand is in the gesture of exposition, or teaching, while the left is lowered to offer blessings. He sits relaxed in open-robe pose, with traditional attributes, such as distended earlobes (signifying the burdensome earrings of his former princely life), t