Torsos such as this were numerous, but varied in quality immensely as they were being reproduced up and down the country by royal decree. The powerfully shaped chest, slender waist accentuated by the tops of his antaravasaka, the skillfully carved notches of his sanghati and the torsos overall good proportions show this piece to be a quality carving of its kind. This is backed up by notes made by the respected scholars of Thai art Mr. A.B. Griswold and Mr. Luang Boribal in a pamphlet on Ayutthaya stone images that lesser stone pieces, often in the provinces were originally carved with minimal detail and then painted with unusually thick layers of lacquer once the stone carving had been completed so that the final details could be introduced into the thick lacquering before the images received their usual gilding. They also state that on the better quality images the lacquer was nothing more than a light coat simply to hold the gilding. On this image particularly on the back of the piece and between the left arm and his body you can see traces of the original red lacquer that was applied before the subsequent layer of black lacquer prior to the image being gilded.

Maravijaya sandstone images of Buddha such as this piece is originally from, were very prominent in and around temple complexes at the height of the Ayutthaya period in the 17th century under both King Prasat Thong (1630-1655) and his successor son King Narai (1656-1688). During the Khmer occupation of Central Thailand (early 11th to late 13th century) the Lopburi school was the leading exponent of the Khmer style of sculpture in Siam. Although this school produced bronzes, most of them were of a comparatively small size. The major sculpture of the Lopburi school was of stone. It appears that when the Thai conquered Central Siam from the Khmer they rejected the use of stone for sculpture and confined themselves to the use of bronze, more in harmony with their own heritage. The Khmer temples were allowed to fall into ruin and the sculptors of Lopburi ceased to work in stone. It was not until three centuries later that King Prasat Thong of Ayutthaya (1630-1655), who had solidified Thai power over Cambodia and adopted the Cambodian royal traditions, commanded that the use of stone for sculpture should be revived on a large scale. Both King Prasat Thong and his son King Narai exhalted themselves by reviving and restoring the glories of the Khmer past in Siam. These two monarchs adapted existing Khmer images to the use of Hinayana Buddhism, restored old Khmer complexes, and created new monuments echoing the Khmer style. They also modified the appearance of old Khmer stone statues by the addition of plaster and lacquer, converting the Khmer facial features into features in the Thai tradition. At the same time, they created new stone images of Buddha to be made in the national style of which this torso is one. It appears that the Ayutthaya school of stone sculpture artificially bought in by King Prasat Thong came to an end in the latter part of the reign of King Narai. After his reign, there is no known stone sculpture that may be plausibly attributed to the Ayutthaya period.

Age: 17th Century.

Height: On base 48 cm, off base 35 cm.