Description
The stylistic origins of this object in the bronzes of Bangladesh are clear. If it was not made there, it is likely to have been made by a sculptor trained there, or under the auspices of immigrants from there; otherwise it would probably not have been made of brass, nor would it bear an incised "Buddhist creed" at the back. The image appears to have had a renewed life beginning in about the 16th century, when the base was made.
Provenance
Mr. Amnuey, Lopburi, Thailand [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Alexander B. Griswold, Monkton, January 30, 1951 [presented to the Breezewood Foundation, November 7, 1956, inv. no. 305]; Walters Art Museum, 1992, by bequest.
Inscriptions
[Inscription] Line one: siddham [=symbol] ye dharmma hetuprabhava hetum tesam tatha-; line two: gato=avadat tesan=ca yo nirodha eva-; line three: mvadi mahasramanah; [Translation] Tathagata [the 'thus-come one,' the Buddha] has revealed the cause of those phenomena that spring from a cause also [the means of] their cessation. So says the Great Monk
Credit
Bequest of A. B. Griswold, 1992
