Buddha

Thailand, 14th century

Bronze

Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection, 33.178

During the Sukhothai period (1238–ca. 1378) a sculptural style developed unique to Thailand, in which linearity and geometric abstraction were emphasized. This bronze Head of a Buddha is a fine example of this style. The features of the Buddha are faithful to descriptions in Thai Buddhist texts, which describe the Buddha as having a nose like a parrot's beak, a chin like a mango stone, and hair curling symmetrically in one direction. Buddhism in Thailand (and in a broader area of Southeast Asia) developed its own tradition known as Theravadan Buddhism.