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This seated Buddha is 25 inches overall height. I don't remember if my dad bought this in Thailand or bought it back from Burma. It would have been purchased around 1968 or 1969. I know there were lots of shops selling "antiques" to naive Americans at the time. There is writing on the back -I don't even know in what language. Any info about this would be much appreciated - thank you for your time. Sue

Someone who reads the script may be able to identify a date and specific place of origin. However, based strictly on stylistic cues, I'd speculate that your carving of the Shakyamuni Buddha in "Earth-touching" mudra (posture) probably is late 19th-early 20th century Lao or Thai. I believe the earlobes on such Burmese Buddha images tend to extend to the shoulders as opposed to dangling like these.

The link will take you to a pdf document with information on page 1 and an illustration of the Burmese style image on page 2.

Best regards,

Bill H.

URL Title :BurmeseBuddha

BillH. - Thanks so much for your help and the informative PDF. I immediately saw many differences and will do further research.

Hopefully, someone can join in and tell me about the inscription on the back.

BTW...please note...I see that their is another person posting as "Sue"...so for distinction I am going to change my posts to the name SueSwit...

Dear Sue,I can't translate the inscription but it's burmese and your buddha is typically burmese. Rémy.

Dear Remy, I believe if you use Google images to review Lao and Burmese Buddhas, you'll find that the earlobes on Lao images tend to dangle in the manner of Sue's example, whereas those of the images from Burma usually extend to the shoulders. Of course in Burma, many Buddha images, including those in the so-called 'Mandalay' style, traditionally have been made by Shan artisans, who are of the same Tai ethnicity as the Thai and Lao people. Thus some other features of these images may appear similar. I've lived, worked and collected for extended periods in all three countries and offer this photo of three Shan-made "Burmese" images with earlobes extending to the shoulders. The figures without the long earlobes are monk images. All were acquired in Burma more than 30 years ago.

Best regards,

Bill H.

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