Thailand
Standing Buddha with Hand in Gesture of Teaching (<em>Vitarkamudra</em>)
INV-1498
ThailandMon period, 8th century
Standing Buddha with Hand in Gesture of Teaching (<em>Vitarkamudra</em>)
Thailand →Southeast Asianbronzemetal
Date
Mon period, 8th century
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
52 × 15.1 × 12.4 cm (20 1/4 × 4 7/8 × in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Marilynn B. Alsdorf
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. Many bronzes from this era were lost or repurposed, making surviving examples rare.
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