Burmese Buddha With Gold Lacquer, Myanmar, Mandalay Period (1860-1870)

This type of statue is known as the Mandalay Buddha, with the left hand depicted on the knees and the right hand below the knee. The Uttarasanga, the typical monastic robe of Buddhist monks, is worn open, and the Sanghati is decoratively folded over the left shoulder. This tropical wood statue still shows traces of the original gilding.

Mandalay was considered the center of the Buddhist universe in Burma. King Mindon moved the capital of his empire there in 1853. Tradition tells that Gautama Buddha, accompanied by his disciple Ananda, visited the sacred summit of Mandalay Hill and predicted that on the occasion of the 2400th anniversary of his death, a city would be founded on the plain at the foot of the hill. The founding of the city immediately marked the beginning of the most important period in Myanmar's history, particularly in the field of artistic expression. The influence of the Mandalay Buddha statues goes beyond their artistic beauty. They played an important role in shaping the country's cultural identity. Even today, Mandalay's Buddha statues are revered for their spiritual depth and serve as a reminder of the Buddha's timeless teachings.