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Hello,

As I could read many different comments about Burmese statues of Sāriputta which have been commonly carved in Myanmar since 19th century and even more copied more recently... I still wonder whether this one can be an old one or not...

Apart from the golden leaves which seem to be really authentic, the small pieces of red and green glass look like more modern. Does anybody know if such decoration can be found on 19th century statues of this kind?

This Sāriputta is really graceful and I hope to find a similar Moggallāna one day...

Thanks for sharing your opinion. Nicolas

I can vouch that most of the antique peddlers who sold such images house-to-house in Rangoon 30 years ago claimed them to be of the 19th century Mandalay Period, which era is defined by Wikipedia as 1859–1885, while others inflate it to 1853-1948, or beginning from the second Anglo-Burmese War until Burma gained its independence after WW-II. Having lived in Burma for several years and collected some Buddhist images, including those of Sariputta and Moggallana, I can opine empirically that those having gilt over a black lacquered surface seem to be older than many of the ones gilded on a red lacquer surface, though some also have a mix of red and black, as seen in my photos herewith. My apologies for the incongruous photo of them with the Bodhisattva Maitreya in his manifestation as the Budai Heshang or "Cloth Sack Monk".


For anyone interested in further information on these earliest disciples of the historical Buddha Sakyamuni, I've pasted a couple of Wikipedia URLs below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sariputta

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maudgalyayana

Best regards,

Bill H.

Thanks Bill for your interesting contribution and personal experience. This Sāriputta has been gilded on black lacquered wood and I can't see any mark of red lacquered surface.

However probably Burmese craftsmen know about it and are able to reproduce perfectly this kind of statue nowadays...

Best regards,

Nicolas

The craftsmen in Northern Thailand at Chiangmai also are adept at making excellent images. After all, they are first cousins to the Shan craftsmen across the border in Burma who traditionally made many of the old images and continue to produce new ones today as well.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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