Khmer Bronze Seated Buddha Meditating on Naga

Buddhist works of art such as this beautiful bronze seated, meditating Buddha often have symbolic elements that relate to the very early stages in the development of this highly complex religion. Elements of nature were an integral part of the early religions of India, and the roots of Buddhism formed an alliance with these ancient popular cults of the soil and nature, accepting among other things, their nature spirits. In this example, a bronze Buddha sits on the artistically rendered body of a Naga, the ancient Indian spirit of water that takes the form of a serpentine cobra. The head of the snake forms a dramatic nimbus around the upper portion of the Buddha, individual serpentine heads framing the Buddha’s expressive face. The Buddhist religion spread throughout the Far East and nowhere is the artistic rendering of this spiritual religion more expressive than in the art of the 12th to 13th century Khmer culture of Cambodia. This bronze Buddha illustrates the unique artistic tradition; the image boldly expressive in form yet delicate in its sensibility. Graceful and powerful at once, the combined images of Buddha and Naga capture both the aesthetic and spiritual elements of our very soul. – (FZ.294)