Head of a Buddha

In 1909, Charles Lang Freer purchased this and three other bronze heads of the Buddha from the American Art Galleries in New York City (F1909.48-51). Remarkably different in style, the heads reveal the range of artistic possibilities within the strictures of a single iconographic form. Here, the Buddha's face appears supple with gently undulating curves. The rich brown surface retains flecks of gilding, especially in the folds of the ear and coiled hair. The eyes are heavy-lidded, their downward gaze finding an echo in the upturned mouth. The chin is full and the pierced ears flare slightly to the sides. Taken together, these features suggest a date of around 1500, within Thailand's Lan Na period (14th--15th century). Thailand's Buddhist art is remarkable for the way the image of the Buddha transforms subtly across centuries of casting in bronze.