Antique Burmese Crowned Marble Buddha

This antique Burmese crowned marble Buddha statue with painted lips, eyes and nails is seen here seated in Bhumis Parsa mudra, the earth‑touching gesture, with the left hand resting in meditation on the lap.

The crown is a three-tiered rounded diadem rather than the tiered conical style associated with those seen on the crowned Mandalay style Buddha statues. Seated on a nicely styled double lotus pedestal with floral thayo lacquer motifs decorating the hem of the robe and edge of the sanghati. The ear and shoulder ornamentation is similar to that seen in some jambupati style statues.

This is a highly unusual form which I personally have never seen before and possibly a hybrid between a late Mandalay/ Konbaung period and Shan Thai Yai style made during the British colonial period late 19th to early 20th century, I think the smile on this statue tells me that he has a secret.

SPECIFICATIONS:

AGE: Late 19th – Early 20th Century
HEIGHT: 48 cm
WIDTH: 28 cm
DEPTH: 10 cm
WEIGHT: 15 kg.
CONDITION: Age related wear beneath the lower row of lotus flowers and to the gild. Hand chiselled tool marks on the back of the pedestal and finial.
#876

Antique Burmese Crowned Marble Buddha

During the pre-colonial Konbaung dynasty, marble sculptors worked under royal guilds following strict palace iconographic codes. Following the deposition of King Thibaw in 1885 and the collapse of royal court patronage, carvers shifted toward serving a broader clientele of local merchants, colonial officers, and international collectors.

The faces on Burmese Buddha statues moved away from the severe, abstract ideals of earlier periods. Sculptors softened the features, giving statues sweeter, rounder faces, gentler smiles, and proportions that leaned closer to natural human anatomy while retaining sacred serenity.

The beautiful white marble on this statue was sourced from the Sagyin quarries near Mandalay