Thai Buddha

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Photograph of various Thai Buddha statues at at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Photograph of various Thai Buddha statues at at Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Thai Buddha refers to a statue of Buddha that either resides in, or was created in, the country of Thailand.

The Sukhothai period brought forth an interpretation of the Thai Buddha that is elegant, with sinuous bodies and slender, oval faces. This style emphasised the spiritual aspect of the Buddha by omitting anatomical details. The effect was enhanced by the common practice of casting images in metal rather than carving them. This period saw the introduction of the "walking Buddha" pose. Sukhothai artists tried to follow the defining marks of a Buddha set out in ancient Pali texts:

  • skin so smooth that dust cannot stick
  • legs like a deer
  • thighs like a banyan tree
  • shoulders massive as an elephant's head
  • arms round like an elephant's trunk, and long enough to touch the knees
  • hands like lotuses about to bloom
  • fingertips turned back like petals
  • head like an egg
  • hair like scorpion stingers
  • chin like a mango stone
  • nose like a parrot's beak
  • earlobes lengthened by the earrings of royalty
  • eyelashes like a cow's
  • eyebrows like drawn bows

Thailand is amazing!♥♥

Sukhothai also produced a large quantity of glazed ceramics in the sangkhalok style, which were traded throughout south-east Asia.

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