Skip Navigation

Head and Torso of a Buddha

Asian Art

On View: Asian Galleries, North, 2nd floor (Japan)

The Sukhothai Period (1250–1378) was a great period of Thai sculpture, when a national style emerged. This is evidenced by the heroic proportions of the Sukhothai Buddha torso and head. As an exemplary work or monumental bronze casting, the Buddha eminently demonstrates that statuary made in later periods could be enormously expressive. The expansive chest is covered by a transparent garment covering only the left shoulder. The silhouette is evoked by a few schematic folds of the drapery. The Buddha possesses such features of supernatural anatomy as the ushnisha (cranial protuberance), spiral curls, and extended earlobes, which reflect back to the days before his enlightenment, when he wore heavy earrings as the Indian Prince Siddhartha.

MEDIUM Bronze
  • Place Made: Thailand
  • DATES 14th century
    PERIOD Sukhothai Period
    DIMENSIONS 38 x 22 1/2 x 11 in., 189 lb. (96.5 x 57.2 x 27.9 cm, 85.73kg)  (show scale)
    COLLECTIONS Asian Art
    ACCESSION NUMBER 88.94
    CREDIT LINE Purchased with funds given by the Charles Bloom Foundation, Inc., in memory of Mildred and Charles Bloom
    CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION Identified by his usual attributes: raised snail curls and ushnisha (cranial protuberance), elongated earlobes, downcast eyes, and vallis (three lines on neck). The figure's expansive chest is particularly covered by a transparent garment covering only the left shoulder and ending in a narrow shawl flap. The right section of the chest is unclothed in the fashion typical of the period. The type belongs to the so-called "Lion-type group", so-named for the image of Buddha as Sakyasinha the "Lion of the Sakyas." Since the arms are missing we cannot date the piece specifically, or confirm identification as Sakyamuni in Earth-touching pose or with his hands and begging bowl in his lap. The stylized modeling and proportions are heroic and classic of the period: the breadth of the shoulders in relation to the size of the head; the depression of the naval; the length of the earlobes; and the modeling of the torso in relation to the sweep of the garment. This is emphasized by the exaggerated features of his physiognomy. The patina is a dark green color. Conditions: The flame finial of the ushnisha is void. The figure's left arm from the shoulder and the right from above the elbow are void. The surface of the area around the left breast and a section of the chest are unevenly corroded, but intact.
    MUSEUM LOCATION This item is on view in Asian Galleries, North, 2nd floor (Japan)
    CAPTION Head and Torso of a Buddha, 14th century. Bronze, 38 x 22 1/2 x 11 in., 189 lb. (96.5 x 57.2 x 27.9 cm, 85.73kg). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by the Charles Bloom Foundation, Inc., in memory of Mildred and Charles Bloom, 88.94. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 88.94_PS11.jpg)
    IMAGE overall, 88.94_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2021
    "CUR" at the beginning of an image file name means that the image was created by a curatorial staff member. These study images may be digital point-and-shoot photographs, when we don\'t yet have high-quality studio photography, or they may be scans of older negatives, slides, or photographic prints, providing historical documentation of the object.
    RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
    You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
    RECORD COMPLETENESS
    Not every record you will find here is complete. More information is available for some works than for others, and some entries have been updated more recently. Records are frequently reviewed and revised, and we welcome any additional information you might have.