17th / 18th Century Thai Ayutthaya Period Bronze Crowned Buddha Head Sculpture - a Pair

Description

A pair of Thai Ayutthaya period bronze crowned Buddha mounted on wood stands. Thailand. 17th/18th Century

Dimensions: (approx)
Head: 15" … more A pair of Thai Ayutthaya period bronze crowned Buddha mounted on wood stands. Thailand. 17th/18th Century

Dimensions: (approx)
Head: 15" High, 7.75" Wide, 6" Deep (tallest)
Overall: tbd

Provenance / Acquisition:
Acquired from the highly reputable auction house Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas.
2024 March Fine & Decorative Asian Art Signature Catalog Auction #8155 Lot #78357

Condition Report:
Attractive pair with beautifully aged patina, condition commensurate of age, use, and exposure. Scattered areas of desirable verdigris green patina and oxidation throughout to each. Minor loss to front shell point of one example. Small holes scattered throughout and screws/nails through each fixing both examples to wooden bases. Both well preserved and present superbly

History:
The first Crowned Buddha images or Jambupati Buddha statues are known to have been originated from the Pyu, where the Indian influence of Buddhist arts and non-Theravada Buddhism was extremely felt in those days. There may have been various background stories behind the crowned Buddha statues in the course of history but one of the most popular stories goes by the legend of Jambupati. This particular legend is not known in the home of Buddhism India, however the crowned Buddha statues have been attached to the name Jambupati as the Buddha is believed to have humbled a boastful and arrogant king Jambupati. The story goes on about how the Buddha transformed himself into a mighty king with a crown and jewelry and set himself a majestic yet incomparable palace. Seeing this, the king accepted the great ability of the Buddha and submitted himself to the Dharma and became a Buddhist monk. This particular story has gained a lot of popularity and stood the test of time in Burma as the number of Crowned Buddha statues in Burma is considerably great in amount.

There are also other versions of the background story of crowned statues of Buddha. One of them recalls the moment after the Buddha attained enlightenment. In this story, after the first sermon of the Buddha, he is believed to have ascended to heavens where he taught and preached about Dharma to the gods as well as to his deceased mother. After the completion of the preaching, he triumphantly returned to the earth accompanied by the gods Indra and Brahma in a crown. Thus, the large crown on the Buddha's head refers to the Buddha's descent from the heaven. Therefore, we can come to the conclusion that the crowned Buddha statues were crafted to depict Buddha after his triumphant return from the heaven to the earth after preaching dharma to the gods. This also a reason for Buddhist people to revere crowned Buddha statues. less