The Mandalay Period represents the last great cultural flourishing of Burmese art. The period was named after the city of Mandalay, which served as capital of Myanmar for a brief period (1860-1885 A.D.) during the reign of King Mindon. After the Anglo-Burmese Wars, northern Myanmar was shut off from the coastal areas that were controlled by the British. King Mindon founded the new capital at a sacred site at the foot of a large hill. The center of the city was designed in the perfect geometrical form of a Buddhist Mandala, giving the city its name. Although this short-lived kingdom finally fell to the British forces in 1886 A.D. during the Third Anglo-Burmese War, the Royal Guilds that created such remarkable works of art for the King remained in the city where they continued to produce sculptures in the Mandalay style.
The historical figure, Buddha Gautama Sakyamuni is the Buddha of compassion who, having achieved the highest evolutionary perfection, turns suffering into happiness for all living beings. Born around 560 B.C. somewhere between the hills of south Nepal and the Rapti river, his father was a Raja who ruled over the northeastern province of India, the district including the holy Ganges River. The young prince was married to Yashoda when he was about 17 years old and together they had a son named Rahula. At the age of 29, he left his life of luxury, as he felt compelled to purify his body and make it an instrument of the mind by ridding himself of earthly impulses and temptations.
This marble statue of Buddha demonstrates the
high degree of artistic refinement achieved
through the artistic expression of religious and
philosophical beliefs. In most Asian countries
this becomes a canonical form, which
distinguishes the Buddha from all other figures.
Cross-legged in yogic posture, the Buddha
touches the earth with the tips of his fingers,
palm faced downward and arm fully extended--a
symbolic gesture summoning the earth goddess
to witness his right to seat beneath the tree of
wisdom called the bhumisparsha mudra. This
posture is better known as ‘calling the Earth to
witness’. It is the moment of enlightenment, the
attainment of Buddhahood in which the
transcendence is achieved. The sensation of
tranquility and detachment experienced in this
stage is evident in the facial features which are
further enhanced by the smoothness and clarity
of the medium. The Buddha's robe covers the
left shoulder in the traditional monastic manner,
is delicately pleated at the edges and fans out
over the lotus base. The separation of the hair
from the face by a broad band is a device of
Khmer heads of the Angkor period and yet at the
same time the accommodation of ethnic Burmese
facial features highlights the personal aspirations
of laymen. All the volumes of his body are
perfectly proportioned, symmetrical, smooth and
fully rounded: the shoulders are broad, and the
hips narrow; his arms reach down to the knees
and the lobes of his ears are distended. The
general appearance associated with the Buddha
characterizes him partly as a noble human being
and ideal ruler and partly as superhuman. The
elegance and spirituality of the Buddha form is
well conceived in this Burmese marble
representation.
