Standing crowned and bejeweled Buddha

This bronze Buddha image is rare because it is large for its period and was made in an elaborate way. On most crowned and bejeweled Buddha images the crowns, necklaces, and other royal ornaments were cast together with the figure. Here, the upper part of the headdress, the necklace, the earrings, and the jeweled panel hanging down from the waistband have all been cast separately
and attached. A number of ancient pieces of jewelry are known whose size suggests they were intended for statues rather than persons, but very seldom have they remained together with their statues.

The meanings of the standing crowned and bejeweled Buddha image in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Cambodia and Thailand are not fully understood. There may have been associations with a story, better known later, of the Buddha magically creating a city and appearing as its glorious king in order to overawe an arrogant earthly king.