A SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH HIS DISCIPLES SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLANA, KINGDOM OF MRAUK U
A SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH HIS DISCIPLES SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLANA, KINGDOM OF MRAUK U (1429–1785), ARAKAN, 15TH–16TH CENTURY
Western Myanmar. Finely carved in high relief, Shakyamuni seated in dhyanasana upon a broad cushioned throne, the right hand lowered in bhumisparsha mudra and the left resting palm-up in dhyana mudra. The figure clad in a closely fitted monastic robe draped over the left shoulder and falling in a broad pleat down the chest. The broad face conveys a serene presence, characterized by heavy-lidded downcast eyes, gently arched brows, a broad nose, full lips, flanked by elongated earlobes, the head surmounted by a smooth tall ushnisha.
The Buddha is flanked by his chief disciples Sariputta and Moggallana, each kneeling, their hands pressed together in reverence. The group is set against a smooth back slab surmounted by a stepped architectural canopy. Note the pronounced wear to the bald heads of the two disciples, resulting from prolonged in situ veneration, and imparting a remarkably smooth, rich patina. Such extensive devotional wear provides compelling evidence that the sculpture has remained in a temple site over a considerable period of time.
Provenance: Collection of Olivier Maréchal, Belgium.
Olivier Maréchal (b. 1973) is a noted Belgian collector and dealer specializing in the arts of India, Vietnam, and Thailand. He began his career in the mid-1990s, learning from his father who helped him with his first purchases. He later managed Surya Gallery in Brussels, Belgium.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, old wear, signs of weathering, scattered chips and small nicks, old repairs to the edges, and encrustations. The surface with flaking, dark residues, and scattered remnants and pigment and gilding.
Weight: 13.5 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 50 cm (excl. stand), 59 cm (incl. stand)
Mounted on a modern metal stand. (2)
Mrauk U, capital of the Rakhine kingdom from the 15th to the 18th century, developed a highly distinctive tradition of Buddhist architecture in which sculpture formed an integral part of the sacred interior. Its great temples were conceived as immersive devotional spaces, with Buddha images, worshippers, guardians, and reliefs incorporated directly into walls, niches, and vaulted passages rather than displayed as isolated sculptures. This architectural setting is still vividly preserved in the major monuments of Mrauk U. At Koe Thaung, founded in 1553, long interior corridors are lined with seated Buddhas and innumerable smaller images (figs. 1-2), while the passageways of Andaw Thein similarly place Buddha figures within a rhythmic sequence of niches and architectural frames (fig. 3). Pamela Gutman illustrates the same principle at Htoke Kant Thein, where a central Buddha occupies a niche flanked by smaller kneeling worshippers (fig. 4).
The present fragment was almost certainly conceived for such an architectural context. Its shallow, monolithic construction, broad backing slab, and stepped canopy create the effect of a self-contained shrine, while the roughly hewn reverse with prominent tool marks was clearly never intended to be seen. The sculpture was therefore fitted into or set against the masonry of a temple interior. The Buddha himself closely follows the sculptural language associated with Mrauk U: the broad face and shoulders, powerful torso, substantial limbs, smooth modeling, and restrained treatment of the monastic robe are all characteristic, as is the seated pose with the right hand in bhumisparsha mudra. Particularly instructive is the massive Buddha at Miphara-gyi-gu, illustrated by Pamela Gutman and associated with a shrine erected in 1553 (fig. 5), which provides an important dated parallel for this idiom.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related monumental Rakhine sandstone Buddha, Mrauk U, 16th-17th century, illustrated in Sylvia Fraser-Lu and Donald M. Stadtner (eds.), Buddhist Art of Myanmar, New York, 2015, p. 67-68, fig. 38.
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A SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH HIS DISCIPLES SARIPUTTA AND MOGGALLANA, KINGDOM OF MRAUK U (1429–1785), ARAKAN, 15TH–16TH CENTURY
Western Myanmar. Finely carved in high relief, Shakyamuni seated in dhyanasana upon a broad cushioned throne, the right hand lowered in bhumisparsha mudra and the left resting palm-up in dhyana mudra. The figure clad in a closely fitted monastic robe draped over the left shoulder and falling in a broad pleat down the chest. The broad face conveys a serene presence, characterized by heavy-lidded downcast eyes, gently arched brows, a broad nose, full lips, flanked by elongated earlobes, the head surmounted by a smooth tall ushnisha.
The Buddha is flanked by his chief disciples Sariputta and Moggallana, each kneeling, their hands pressed together in reverence. The group is set against a smooth back slab surmounted by a stepped architectural canopy. Note the pronounced wear to the bald heads of the two disciples, resulting from prolonged in situ veneration, and imparting a remarkably smooth, rich patina. Such extensive devotional wear provides compelling evidence that the sculpture has remained in a temple site over a considerable period of time.
Provenance: Collection of Olivier Maréchal, Belgium.
Olivier Maréchal (b. 1973) is a noted Belgian collector and dealer specializing in the arts of India, Vietnam, and Thailand. He began his career in the mid-1990s, learning from his father who helped him with his first purchases. He later managed Surya Gallery in Brussels, Belgium.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Obvious losses, old wear, signs of weathering, scattered chips and small nicks, old repairs to the edges, and encrustations. The surface with flaking, dark residues, and scattered remnants and pigment and gilding.
Weight: 13.5 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 50 cm (excl. stand), 59 cm (incl. stand)
Mounted on a modern metal stand. (2)
Mrauk U, capital of the Rakhine kingdom from the 15th to the 18th century, developed a highly distinctive tradition of Buddhist architecture in which sculpture formed an integral part of the sacred interior. Its great temples were conceived as immersive devotional spaces, with Buddha images, worshippers, guardians, and reliefs incorporated directly into walls, niches, and vaulted passages rather than displayed as isolated sculptures. This architectural setting is still vividly preserved in the major monuments of Mrauk U. At Koe Thaung, founded in 1553, long interior corridors are lined with seated Buddhas and innumerable smaller images (figs. 1-2), while the passageways of Andaw Thein similarly place Buddha figures within a rhythmic sequence of niches and architectural frames (fig. 3). Pamela Gutman illustrates the same principle at Htoke Kant Thein, where a central Buddha occupies a niche flanked by smaller kneeling worshippers (fig. 4).
The present fragment was almost certainly conceived for such an architectural context. Its shallow, monolithic construction, broad backing slab, and stepped canopy create the effect of a self-contained shrine, while the roughly hewn reverse with prominent tool marks was clearly never intended to be seen. The sculpture was therefore fitted into or set against the masonry of a temple interior. The Buddha himself closely follows the sculptural language associated with Mrauk U: the broad face and shoulders, powerful torso, substantial limbs, smooth modeling, and restrained treatment of the monastic robe are all characteristic, as is the seated pose with the right hand in bhumisparsha mudra. Particularly instructive is the massive Buddha at Miphara-gyi-gu, illustrated by Pamela Gutman and associated with a shrine erected in 1553 (fig. 5), which provides an important dated parallel for this idiom.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related monumental Rakhine sandstone Buddha, Mrauk U, 16th-17th century, illustrated in Sylvia Fraser-Lu and Donald M. Stadtner (eds.), Buddhist Art of Myanmar, New York, 2015, p. 67-68, fig. 38.
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