Head of a Buddha
date: label: Date
content: ca. 1500
label: Period
content: Lan Na period
notes: label: Label
content: In 1909, Charles Lang Freer purchased this and three other bronze heads of the Buddha from the American Art Galleries in New York City (F1909.48-51). Remarkably different in style, the heads reveal the range of artistic possibilities within the strictures of a single iconographic form. Here, the Buddha's face appears supple with gently undulating curves. The rich brown surface retains flecks of gilding, especially in the folds of the ear and coiled hair. The eyes are heavy-lidded, their downward gaze finding an echo in the upturned mouth. The chin is full and the pierced ears flare slightly to the sides. Taken together, these features suggest a date of around 1500, within Thailand's Lan Na period (14th--15th century). Thailand's Buddhist art is remarkable for the way the image of the Buddha transforms subtly across centuries of casting in bronze.
label: Provenance
content: Unnamed Siamese official [1]
label: Provenance
content: To 1909
label: Provenance
content: Mr. Gadelius, to 1909 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1909 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased at the sale of Siamese and Cambodian Collection, American Art Association, New York April 6, 1909 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to Curatorial Remark 5, H. E. Buckman, 1964, in the object record, the Envelope File contained the following note by C. L. Freer, dated February 26, 1918: "Bronze head of Buddha, life sized. Brought to New York City by Mr. Gadelius during the winter of 1908-1909, and sold along with other Siamese and Cambodian objects, at the American Art Galleries, on April 6, 1909. Mr. Gadelius assured me that this head came from the ruins of Angkor Wat, Cambodia; and this statement appears in the catalogue of the sale. I attended the sale personally and purchased at the same time three other heads, S.I. 68 (F1909.49), 69 (F1909.50) and 70 (F1909.51)." According to Curatorial Remark 6, Louise Cort, February 18, 2002, "The catalogue of the sale of Siamese and Cambodian objects (6 April 1909) noted that they had been accumulated over a period of thirty-five years by a Siamese official."
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 1. See also, Original Bronze List, S.I. 67, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Mr. Gadelius (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: Thailand
topic: label: Topic
content: casting
label: Topic
content: gilding
label: Topic
content: metal
label: Topic
content: bronze
label: Topic
content: Buddhism
label: Topic
content: Buddha
label: Topic
content: ushnisha
label: Topic
content: Thailand
label: Topic
content: South Asian and Himalayan Art
label: Topic
content: Lan Na period (1251 - 1774)
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: Related Online Resources
content: NMAA Southeast Asia
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1909.48
objectType: label: Type
content: Sculpture
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Bronze with traces of gilding
label: Dimensions
content: H x W x D: 31.7 x 21.6 x 20.8 cm (12 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 8 3/16 in)