Standing 46 cm high, this sculpture shares the material rarity associated with large Burmese bronzes of its period. Traditional monastic sculpture of this scale more commonly favoured wood or marble, owing to both cost and ease of production. Casting a bronze of such dimensions required access to substantial metallurgical resources as well as the expertise of highly skilled foundry workshops, most likely associated with commissions from the court or wealthy patrons of Ava.
 
This imposing sculpture depicts the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, seated in meditation upon a pedestal formed as a double lotus throne, its upper and lower rows of petals superbly stylised in relief.
 
The Buddha performs the classic earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra). His right hand rests upon the knee, the long, slender fingers extending towards the ground, while the left hand rests at the centre of his lap, palm facing upward, holding a myrobalan fruit between the fingers.
 
The finely modelled face still embodies the ascetic ideal associated with the Ava period. The eyes are almost closed, while the delicately incised eyebrows form two perfect arches meeting at the bridge of the straight nose. The full lips convey a subtle, introspective smile, and the chin is marked by a characteristic fold. The elongated earlobes, symbols of his former princely status, extend down towards the shoulders. The hair is composed of small, tightly arranged and regular peppercorn-like curls, separated from the forehead by a narrow band. It is surmounted by a bulbous cranial protuberance (ushnisha), crowned by a lotus-bud finial, characteristic of the restrained aesthetic of the period.
 
The Buddha wears the monastic robe draped so as to leave the right shoulder bare. A sober, rectilinear pleated fold descends from the left shoulder symmetrically to the level of the navel at the front and extends in a geometric arrangement across the back. The treatment is restrained yet carefully executed.
 
Condition:
Superb state of preservation, with a rich and remarkably even chocolate-brown patina. No structural losses. A few minor indentations and small chips. Traces of natural green oxidation (copper carbonate) and mineralisation are visible around the base of the throne. Slight loss of patina and a casting irregularity beneath the right eye.