The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions

Buddha Maravijaya - the"Buddha who vanquished Mara" - a name given in Siam to the episode in which Gautama called upon the Earth goddess to bear witness and gained victory over Mara, the lord of evil forces.
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The art of Siam. 14th-19th centuries

Kneeling donor

Lanna

16th century

Bronze

Height: 12.5 cm

Depictions of earthly, secular personages are rare in Siamese art. But even those that do exist are presented in the stylized image of a deity. On the upper, naked part of the trunk there are numerous pieces of jewellery: their types, as well as the shape of the crown, are characteristic of Northern Thai art. Judging by the royal vestments, some senior member of Lanna's ruling dynasty may be presented here in the guise of a deity. The donor is holding a hollow conical object (the lower part of which has, sadly, been broken off). This may have been a cult vessel made from a seashell and used to make libations of water on the ground as testimony of a gift being made to the temple.

Donor - a person who has given money for the building of a temple or the making of a statue.
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Lanna - a state in the Far North of present-day Thailand that existed up to the late 18th century. It flourished from the second half of the 13th century to the middle of the 16th.
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