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Buddhism and the life of the Buddha
Late 15th - early 16th century Bronze, traces of gilding Height: 84 cm From the Ayutthaya period onwards, the gestures adopted from India were reinterpreted. The classic abhayamudra - a gesture of reassurance ("approach me without fear") - was now understood as the "Buddha Reconciling Relatives", an allusion to an occasion on which the Buddha reconciled two clans of his relatives who had argued over the right to use the waters of the River Rohini for irrigation. Ayutthaya art developed a style of its own by the late 15th century, but for the first 150 years it was under the strong influence of Sukothai art. This is noticeable in the slightly bent outline of the left arm, hanging alongside the body, and in the little "hooks" - stylized turn-ups formed by the rear hem at the corners. "Hooks" like this were a distinguishing feature of the Sukhothai style that was often copied by later craftsmen.
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