Avalokitesvara

Period: 9th Century CE
Found in: Bidor, Perak, Malaysia
Material: Bronze
Present Location / Lender Muzium Sejarah Nasional (National History Museum), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This beautiful image is typical of Buddhist art in Southeast Asia of the early period. The tiger skin on the hip was particularly popular in this region. The provenance of the statue, near the tin mines of Kinta, suggests that these mines might already have been in operation in the first millennium CE, perhaps to supply tin to India in exchange for textiles and other items.

Borobudur Temple, Central Java, Indonesia

Period: Late 8th Century CE

Borobodur is unique among the monuments of Indonesia, located in Borobudur District, South of Magelang, Central Java. The construction of the temple began probably in 780 CE by a declining Hindu dynasty. From 790 to 835 CE the Buddhist Sailendra dynasty completed the construction.

This massive Buddhist temple’s shape and form can be best explained as a fusion of a number of elements both Indian and local. The monument represents a Buddhist cosmological model of the universe organized around the axis of the mythical mountain of Meru. Around the upper three circular platforms are 72 openwork stupas, each containing a statue of the Buddha. The base is decorated with reliefs covering a total surface area of 2,500 sq. m., illustrating the Karma, the law of cause and effect. Four storeys of square terraces are topped by statues of four of five Jinas. On the highest gallery on all four sides are images of Buddha in Vitarka or teaching mudra. The walls on the square terraces are decorated with reliefs: Jataka tales, stories from the previous lives of the Buddha. The temple is a classic model of the Gupta-Pala tradition blended with the Javanese elements of tenderness and grace.

Buddha Image from Srivijaya

Period: 7th-8th Century CE
Found in: Sumatra, Indonesia
Material: Bronze
Present Location / Lender NUS Museum, NUS Centre for the Arts, Singapore

This image is typical of Buddhist art from the time of Srivijaya’s great period of rule in South Sumatra. His right hand is raised in Abhaya mudra, a posture symbolic of the dispelling of fear. Such images are often connected with the Buddhist deity Dipankara, who was considered a kind of patron saint of sailors. Such images would have been suitable for kingdoms which frequently engaged in foreign trade. Srivijaya had active links with both South India and Bengal from the 7th through 10th Centuries CE.

Bujang Valley Candi Model

Period: Mid 11th Century CE

Candi Bukit Batu Pahat (the candi on the hill of carved stone) and several other smaller shrines in South Kedah, Malaysia, were probably built in the mid-11th Century CE.

They show some characteristics of South Indian temples of this period. These temples were probably built after Kedaram (Kedah) was conquered by Rajendra Chola in 1025 CE.

Special acknowledgment: Muzium Sejarah Nasional (National History Museum), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia