Standing Buddha with modern head

Is this a happy marriage? Stylistically this Buddha just did not seem right to the curators. Though it is of a fairly common type, some of its details raised questions. The facial features are somewhat sweeter and more delicate than is usual for images of this type. The stringlike decorative designs on the crown appear sharper (and thus perhaps less worn) than those on the jeweled collar. Evidence around the neck and arms reveals that the image has been restored several times. Examination under a binocular microscope shows long-term burial corrosion on the body of the image but no corrosion on the head. Separate samples of the clay core material from inside the head and body were sent for thermoluminescence (TL) testing. The results confirmed that the head is modern and the body is from the sixteenth century.

Because any image used for worship in Thailand must be complete, the head may have been added in order to make this image worthy of devotion rather than to create an intentional fake. On the other hand, a dealer may have had an artisan marry the two parts with the intent to deceive. On the art market a complete object is usually much more valuable than any of its pieces.