Standing Buddha
Pagan period, about 12th century
Medium
Bronze inlaid with silver
Dimensions
47.4 × 21.5 × 10.1 cm (18 11/16 × 8 1/2 × 4 in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
149852
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This standing bronze Buddha with rare silver inlaid eyes comes from Pagan, the capital city of an eponymous kingdom that flourished in Myanmar (formerly Burma) between the ninth and thirteenth centuries. Situated along the Irrawaddy River, Pagan was once home to thousands of Buddhist temples, monasteries, and stupas. This sculpture exhibits iconographic and stylistic continuities with roughly coeval portable bronze images cast in southeastern India. Note, for instance, the frilled double-hem of ...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...