Buddha Image

The Sanskrit inscription using Pallava script on the lotus base reveals that this fragment is a part of a Buddha Image. The inscription reads: “The consort of Dvaravati’s ruler ordered her daughter to create this Buddha Image.”, and the script can be dated to the 12^th Buddhist century.

Sandstone carving

A few parts of the Buddha Image remain, namely the feet and the lotus base. The feet are on a rectangular sandstone block with a long tenon below, while the rounded lotus base bears the inscription upon its lower section. In the middle of the base is cut as a mortise hole fitting the feet piece.

This fragment of a Buddha Image demonstrates the relation between the central territory and the northeastern region of Dvaravati, as the lotus base carries an inscription saying that the consort of Dvaravati’s ruler ordered her daughter to create this Buddha Image.

The rectangular base with a tenon below might be related with some sculptures of Khmer art, since the Buddha Images of the Dvaravati period normally have rounded lotus bases connected with the feet. If the hypothesis is confirmed, it can be said that the Buddha Image was created combining some Dvaravati sculpture features with Khmer characteristics. Such combination can be found in art objects of the Dvaravati period discovered in the Northeast.