THAILAND, SUKHOTHAI PERIOD, 14TH/15TH CENTURY

This monumental head epitomizes the finest quality of Buddha images made in the Sukhothai kingdom of central Thailand during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. This style is marked by the presence of a plump oval-shaped face, arched brows over broad eyelids, a long straight nose, a slight upturned smile, a round protruding chin and discrete snail-curls which create a heart-shaped hairline, all of which have been masterfully rendered in the present work. The surface is smooth with a rich, deep brown patina.
Compare with a Sukhothai head of Buddha in the Metropolitan Museum of Art which is nearly identical in size and displays similar features (MMA 1981.458). For further comparison see another example from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection, sold at Christie's New York on 17 March 2015, lot 39.