Bodhisattvas from the Malay Peninsula

The Malay Peninsula or Thai-Malay Peninsula is in Southeast Asia. The land mass runs approximately north-south and, at its teminus, is the southern-most point of the Asian mainland. The area contains territories of Burma,Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand.

This image of Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, belongs to the Shrivijayan tradition of sculpture, so named for the kingdom of Shrivijaya that, from its capital at Palembang in Sumatra, controlled large parts of southern Thailand. This seafaring kingdom may also have controlled other regions in Indonesia such as parts of Java. As a result, sculptures made under Shrivijayan rule exhibit a wide diversity in style, making them difficult to classify. Sculptures produced on the Thai/Malay Peninsula, such as this bodhisattva, are classified as either Thai, Chaiya, or Shrivijayan.

Manjushri is identified by the sword and book placed atop the lotus that he holds in his left hand. The gesture of bestowal or charity (varadamudra) further defines the figure as the Sita Manjughosa or "Gift-Bestowing" form of Manjushri. The tiny seated figures in the bodhisattva's headdress represent the five transcendent buddhas of the Esoteric pantheon, linking this sculpture with the practices of that branch of Buddhism. This figure wears a thin diadem and has jeweled and flowered hair, some of which falls in the long corkscrew-shaped curls often found in early Buddhist sculpture from peninsular Thailand, as are the oval face, fleshy cheeks, small features, and flexed posture. The bodhisattva sits in the posture of relaxation (lalitasana) on a lotus pedestal, which is placed on a two-tiered square base. Four pudgy lions with squat faces sit at the four corners of the base.

Srivijayan Empire (7th–13th century)

Srivijaya, a maritime empire centered at Palembang on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, adopted Mahāyāna and Vajrayāna Buddhism under a line of rulers named theSailendras. Yijing described Palembang as a great centre of Buddhist learning where the emperor supported over a thousand monks at his court. Atiśa studied there before travelling to Tibet as a missionary.

Like Dvaravati art, Srivijayan art was also heavily influenced by Indian traditions. It seems likely that this part of Thailand was on the trade route between India and China, and as a result local artists were well aware of Indian styles. A problem with characterizing the art of this period, which spanned five centuries, is that it is very varied.

Srivijaya was a Mahayana Buddhist Empire, and numerous Avalokitesvara Bodhisattvas have been found, in both stone and bronze, at Chaiya . Some of these are wonderfully carved, and particularly notable is the supremely modelled bronze Avalokitesvara (eighth century, 63 cm high), unearthed at Chaiya and now housed in the National Museum in Bangkok. In fact, so much Srivijayan art has been discovered around this town that some experts went so far as to argue that Chaiya, and not Palembang, was the capital of Srivijaya. Unfortunately, however, there are few architectural remnants from the period. Two exceptions are Wat Phra Boromthat and Wat Kaeo, both at Chaiya .

A SUMATRA, SRIVIJAYA STYLE, BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA, standing in samabhanga, his six arms radiating around his body and holding clockwise varadamudra, pasa, akshamala, pustaka, padma and formerly the kamandalu, now missing, wearing dhoti engraved with alternating floral and chevron bands, sashes falling to both sides, tiger-skin around his hip, belt,upavita, many bodhisattva-ornaments, his face with silver-inlaid eyes, urna, pointed nose, elongated earlobes with large ear-rings, high jatamakuta set with small figure of Amitabha in the front, dark-green patina, late 7th - early 9th Century.

Srivijaya spread Buddhist art during its expansion inSoutheast Asia. Numerous statues of bodhisattvas from this period are characterized by a very strong refinement and technical sophistication, and are found throughout the region. Extremely rich architectural remains are visible at the temple of Borobudur the largest Buddhist structure in the world, built from around 780 CE in Java, which has 505 images of the seated Buddha. Srivijaya declined due to conflicts with the Chola rulers of India, before being destabilized by the Islamic expansion from the 13th century.

19th century reproduction of a 12th century Sri Vijaya Bodhisattva
Thailand

A 19th century, Srivijaya style, cast bronze Buddhist statue of a Bodhisattva, standing with right knee slightly bent on a double tiered circular lotus base. His oval face is sensitively cast with a meditative expression and framed with pendant ears supporting dangling earrings partially resting on the shoulders. His hair is arranged in a very tall chignon with a spiral pattern fronted by ornaments and a five point diadem. This deity has four arms, arranged two on each side:

- the front right hand posed in a form of the Vitarkamundra,
- the back right hand raised, holding a book (symbol of knowledge),
- the front left hand holding the stem of a lotus bud entwined around the left front arm,
- the back left hand holding the base of the lotus bud.

The lower body is covered with a close fitting dhoti, decorated with incised diaper pattern, the chest and waist festooned with various necklaces, ornaments and ribbons. The metal surfaces is patinated green with some traces of gilding in recesses of casting.