Standing Buddha with Hand in Gesture of Teaching (<em>Vitarkamudra</em>)
Pre-Angkorean
Mon period, 8th century
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
52 × 15.1 × 12.4 cm (20 1/4 × 4 7/8 × in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
149846
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This bronze standing Buddha, attributed to the 8th-century Mon style of central Thailand, features a “wet garment” robe reflecting post-Gupta influences. The face displays classic Mon traits: rounded form, broad nose, and continuous arched eyebrows. Clockwise hair curls and three neck lines symbolize the “Great Man” in Buddhist iconography. The right arm is raised in a teaching gesture. Due to monument abandonment and sculpture displacement, linking this image to a specific site is difficult. Ma...