Avalokiteshvara of Chaiya
Bronze Torso of Avalokiteshavara is a Srivijaya-era bronze torso depicting Avalokiteshvara, a Bodhisattava in Buddhism. It was discovered in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province in southern Thailand and is currently in a collection of Bangkok National Museum. It is one of the most beautiful and most widely recognised sculptures of Avalokiteshavara in Thailand. Design The torso depicts a humanoid figure slightly inclining with a round face and eyes looking downwards. The headwear was partially lost. The figure is decorated with prakham (beads), necklaces, and phahurat (upper-arm-wear). A cloth chiang ba can be founded put on one of the shoulder, decorated with a dear-headed yajyopavit beads. According to information provided by the Fine Arts Department, the torso shares similarities with a sculpture of Agastya from in Central Java, Indonesia. The torso is identified as a work of Srivijaya art, influenced by post-Gupta-Pala art of India. It was possibly created somewhere in Chaiya or other towns within the Kingdom, spanning from modern-day Thailand to the Java island in Indonesia. History Discovery The artefact was discovered in 1905 by Damrong Rajanubhab at (or Wat Wiang, according to some sources) in Chaiya District, Surat Thani Province. According to a letter written by Narisara Nuwattiwong,