A fine 70cm bronze Buddha in the double Abhaya mudra — the gesture of fearlessness and divine protection. This is not a routine workshop piece; it carries the slender elegance of the Nan school, refined through Sukhothai lineage, yet bears Burmese inscriptions on its tiered lotus throne — a direct witness to a domination era when local mastery persisted under foreign rule.
The face is pure Nan refinement. Eyes lowered in half-lidded meditation, gazing inward with the calm of one who has seen through all suffering. The smile is barely there—a delicate upturn at the corners, more compassion than joy. Not the broad Sukhothai grin, but something subtler: the serenity of someone who understands impermanence and rests in that knowledge.
The oval visage tapers to a fine chin, framed by elongated earlobes brushing the shoulders. Tight snail-shell curls lead upward to the flame-like ushnisha , crowning the tranquility below.
In the Abhaya mudra, this expression does not command—it reassures. The smile shifts with the light, yet never loses its quiet certainty. It is the feature that will stop you every time you pass it.
Copper inlay at the navel — a sophisticated technical signature of elite Nan metalworkers
70 cm — substantial temple-scale presence
Scarce regional attribution — Nan bronzes are far rarer than Chiang Mai or Ayutthaya works on the market
For the serious Southeast Asian collector, this fills a critical gap between classical Sukhothai and classical lanna styles. A material biography of resilience, beauty, and historical specificity.