Burma, Shan State, 18th-19th Century, Large Maravijaya Buddha In Lacquered And Gilded Wood

Great Buddha Maravijaya
Burma
Shan State
18th-19th century

The Buddha is depicted seated on a tall, stepped pedestal, legs crossed in the vajraparyanka position, his right hand resting on his knee in bhumisparshamudra, a symbolic gesture of victory over inner demons and of activating the Earth as a witness to his awakening, his left hand placed in his lap, palm facing upward.
The Awakened One is clothed in the uttarasangha, the monastic robes stylized into delicate ornaments, and a long samgathi resting on his left shoulder. His shoulders are powerful, and his torso is filled with the breath of meditation. The triangular face is characterized by comma-shaped brow ridges above half-open, lenticular eyes, a broad nose with dilated nostrils, and a mouth with upturned corners forming a generous and benevolent smile.
The neck is adorned with the three beauty marks, the forehead with a thin, multicolored headband, and the delicate hair rendered in small, regular circles. The skull receives the usnisa crowned with a rasmi in the shape of a lotus bud, and the elongated ears with distended lobes extend down to the shoulders, recalling the Blessed One's past worldly life.
The back of the sculpture is embellished with a reliquary cavity.

The Shan State, located in what is now northeastern Myanmar, developed a distinctive Buddhist sculptural tradition between the 17th and 19th centuries, influenced by Thai culture, the neighboring Lanna and Mon kingdoms, and the spread of Theravada Buddhism.
Thus, Shan Buddhist statuary is distinguished by faces expressing serenity and meditative gentleness, slender and harmonious figures, and balanced bodily proportions. The long ears extending to the shoulders and the lotus-bud-shaped rasmi crown the head are defining features of this style's iconography, while the monastic robes are characterized by their understated and refined stylization. Gestures and poses adhere to Theravada principles, combining expressiveness and restraint, lending the whole a readily recognizable and elegant visual identity.

Lacquered and gilded wood
51.5 x 25.5 cm
Restoration to the right arm and signs of wear
Archaïa Gallery, Lyon

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