Posted By: Anita Mui
Posted Date: Jun 15, 2007 (01:24 AM)
Dear Susan
About the material, it made of Nawaloha (9 kind of metal) mainly copper mixed with iron, gold, silver, lead, tin, mercury, zinc and antimony ore.
This material of making buddha images in Thailand are famous in Bangkok Period (late 18th century to present)Since the trading between Qing Dynasty of China and Siam were majority of Kingdom import-export in King RAMA III of Bangkok (Prabaht Somdej Pra Nang Klao Choayuhua) period (1824-1851) there were big migration of Chinese from Guang Dong Province, they bought Qing art as well as culture to Bangkok, too. But They were blended in with small vihecle buddhism ,and not play the important part in the main stream of Thai society and art.
Thailand is small vehicle (Hinayana) buddhism since 8th Century AD, there is no Avalokiteshvara, just Sakayamunee Buddha is only one supreme faith.
Avalokiteshvara belongs to big vehicle (Mahayana) buddhism, so your statue is Chinese (upper apart), and lower part the throne of the statue is openwork Bangkok Period Stylistic.
