Bust of Buddha
Unknown Artist
c. 700
Medium
limestone
Dimensions
60.6 × 34.3 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1969.56
About this artwork
While the iconographic elements, such as elongated earlobes, cranial protuberance, and snail-shell curls derived from India, the local Mon people of Thailand gave their unique expression to the facial features of the Buddha. The beauty of sharply delineated eyes and stylized curling full lips was appreciated among the Mon, and these features impart an almost piercing serenity that is distinctive to Thai images from this early period of sculptural production in Southeast Asia.