FOR SALE  

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ITEM : 4582

Description : Sandstone Buddha Amulet

Period : 17-18th Century,

Pyu-Mon TribeOrigin : Pyay, Burma

Dimension : Ht 14 cm Wide 8.5 cm Deep 2 cm

Prices S$ 1200

FOR SALE  

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ITEM : 4583



Description : Sandstone Buddha Amulet



Period : 17-18th Century,



Pyu-Mon TribeOrigin : Pyay, Burma



Dimension : Ht 10 cm Wide 8 cm Deep 2.5 cm




Price : S$ 1200




15th C , Ava  

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PAIR OF BURMESE APSARA

Title
The Daughters of Mara
Period : 15th century
Techniques :Terracotta, glazed with cream, green and brown
Origin : Burma (possibly)
Dimensions
Height 43.5 cmWidth 35 cm
Current location : Victoria &Albert Museum, UK
Museum number
173-1875
This ceramic plaque depicts two of the daughters of Mara elegantly posed against a green background. They are wearing decorative red and green garments and elaborate headdresses and jewellery, each with one hand to her side, the other raised and holding a fan. The plaque probably formed part of a larger series illustrating the Buddha's triumph over evil and the rout of Mara's army. The army was placed around the base of the Shwegugyi pagoda in Pegu to distrupt the Buddha while he meditated and sought enlightenment. It may have been combined with another series showing part or all of the Jataka stories (a series of tales recounting the Buddha's previous lives). The practice of decorating pagodas with glazed terracotta plaques modelled in relief with Jataka scenes probably began in Burma in the Mon capital of Thahton. It was brought to Pagan by the Burmese king Anirhuddha about the middle of the 11th century, and their use there, as in Pegu in the later 15th century, was probably as much educational as decorative.

Late 19th C, Mandalay  

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King's minister Regalia
Period : 3rd of 19th C, Mandalay
Techniques
(Shoulder belt) Gold relief work, formed by raising and finished with repoussé and incised work(Ear tube) Gold sheets and filigree work(Ear tube) Gold sheets and filigree work(Foil order) Engraved thin gold metal foil
Dimensions
(Shoulder belt) Length 61 cm(Shoulder belt) Width 13.4 cm (maximum)(Ear tube) Length 9.5 cm(Ear tube) Width 3.2 cm (maximum)(Ear tube) Length 9.5 cm(Ear tube) Width 3.2 cm (maximum)(Foil order) Length 28 cm(Foil order) Width 7 cm

Current Location : Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
သတိုးမင္းၾကီးမဟာမင္းထင္စည္သူ
Museum number: IS.15 to C-1947

This 12 strand gold chain of office (sal-we), pair of gold ear tubes (nadaung mi kwin) and gold title frontlet (shwe pyar) formed part of the regalia awarded to a high ranking minister of the Court of Mandalay during the reign of King Thibaw (r.1878-1885). They would have been worn with his court robes (for an example see IM.43-1912 or IM.44-1912) on state occasions. Gradations of rank at the Burmese court were indicated by how many strands or chains the sal-we consisted of. The peacock depicted on three of the clasps symbolized the sun and was the emblem of the Konbaung Dynasty (1752-1885). The minister's titles are inscribed on the shwe pyar and red ribbons would have been attached to the ends allowing the decoration to be tied around the minister's forehead when entering the King's presence.

Late Ava, 15th C  

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Ceremonial Helmet
Period : ca 15th Century, Ava ( Inwa )
Burma.
Techniques
Gold, decorated with gems, raised and further embellished with repoussé and incising work.
Dimension : Height 19.7 cm
Diameter 21.5 cm
Current Location : Victoria & Albert Museum, UK
Museum number
02758(IS)

This head-dress set with jewels formed part of a gold hoard dating to the 15th/16th century Mon Kingdom of Pegu (see Model Pagoda 02755(IS)). It was excavated in 1855 from a stupa relic chamber at the base of the Shwe Dagon, Rangoon. It is believed to be the ceremonial helmet worn by the famed Mon Queen Shin-saw-bu (r.1453-1460) as she progressed through her royal city of Pegu. Shaped like a turban the dome is moulded to possibly fit a coiled length of hair which was held in place by the long pin passed through the holes at the base. The unusual appendage with the lozenge shaped depression may have held a jewel and was worn to the front over the queen's nose.

Tribal Art from Burma  

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Chin Tribal Art

Sorry for the quality of Photo, will update with high resolution soon....

Zatar Lay ( Manuscript )  

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12th C/ Bagan or Pala ..?  

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12th century AD..... Bagan or Pala
The Buddha emerging from a lotus-flower
Both stone and metal images were made during the Pala dynasty in eastern India (about the eighth to the twelfth century AD). While the stone reliefs are often up to two metres high, metal images such as this one are rarely more than twenty centimetres high. They were placed on altars within a monastery or temple. As they are more portable, many were carried further afield to Tibet, Burma and Indonesia.
This object is a small shrine in the form of a lotus flower. The lotus is a common symbol in all Indian religions and many images sit or stand on one. The lotus is a metaphor for purity for it grows out of mud yet remains untouched by it. The lotus flower also opens and closes its petals each day, and thus symbolizes the endless cycle of life and death. The petals of this metal lotus shrine open to reveal the Cosmic Buddha Akshobhya at the centre. In front of him is his symbol the vajra (thunderbolt). On the inside of each petal are eight bodhisattva. Deities support the lotus from beneath. The inscription around the base is a dedication by a Buddhist layman.
W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism: art and faith (London, The British Museum Press, 1985)
Eastern Pala Dyansty is quite influence to Bagan as we knew, but if we can read the ancient inscreption which is wrote on base of mandala could indentify Pala or Bagan.

Buddha and Narargiri Elephant, Bagan 10th C  

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Bagan 10th C

Dimensions
Height 33 cmWidth 19 cmDepth 7.5 cm

Museum number ( Victoria & Albert Museum )
IS.13-1983

This sculpture represents a famous incident in the life of the Buddha when he subdued the drunk and enraged elephant Nalagiri which had been unleashed on him by the evil king Ajatasattu. Attendant monks look on while the newly tamed elephant kneels before the Buddha. This relief was excavated, together with others illustrating the different scenes from the Buddha's life, in the vicinity of the Shwe-nyaung-bin-yo monastery at Hmawza, Burma (now Myanmar) in 1938-9. Stylistically these reliefs appear to provide the bridge between the Pyu art of the ancient Sri Ksetra and the Mon-Burmese art of Pagan.

The question is....... Found in 1938 but who bring out of Burma and How ?

Mandalay , 1850  

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Mandalay Jewel, Gold and Ruby  

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Object: Pair of bangles
Period : Mid 19th C, Mandalay
Burma.
Techniques
Solid gold, set with uncut rubies
Dimensions
Diameter 8.2 cm (inner)Diameter 8.9 cm (outer)
Current Location : Victoria & Albert Museum, UK

Museum number
03159:1, 2/(IS)

This pair of solid gold woman's bangles is set with uncut rubies and dates to the early 19th century. Jewellery had an important place in Burmese royal and aristocratic society. Besides adorning the wearer, it indicated her social status in both her family and society. The sumptuousness of these bangles suggest that they may have originally belonged to a member of the Burmese royal family or to the wife of a high court official.

Bagan 12-13th C Buddha  

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Object : Votive Plaque
Period : ca. 12th century-13th century, Burma

Techniques
Plain red-stained steatite, carved in high relief

Dimensions
Height 12.7 cmWidth 7.6 cm

Current Location : Victoria & Albert Musuem, UK

Museum number
IM.378-1914

This plaque represents eight scenes from the life of the Buddha clockwise around a central figure of the Buddha in the lotus position and in the earth-touching or earth-witnessing attitude. He is seated on a waisted lotus throne beneath the Bodhi tree, under which he achieved enlightenment. He is depicted in monastic robes which leave his right shoulder bare, his curly hair rises to an usnisha surmounted by a lotus bud. The surrounding subjects illustrate eight main scenes of the Buddha's life. Starting at the bottom left corner they are: the Nativity in which Maya-devi (the Buddha's mother) gives birth to the Buddha from her right-side in the Lumbini grove, attended by her sister Prajapati; the Buddha's first sermon in the Deer Park at Benares; the subjugation of Nalagiri, the elephant, which the Buddha prevented from destroying him by overcoming it with love; on the highway of Rajagrih; the Buddha's death (or Parinirvana or Mahaparinibbana); the descent from the Tavatimsa heaven; the twin miracles, in which flames arise from the Buddha's shoulders and water pours from his feet while at the same time a vast number of images of him appear all over the sky; and at the bottom right, the Parileyyaka episode, in which the monkey offers the Buddha a gift of honeycomb.

Mandalay Sculpture  

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Mandalay Sculpture

Introduction

Of the several styles of sculpture that were produced during the Konbaung Period, the Mandalay style became dominant and has persisted until the present day.

During the Konbaung Period there is a marked preference for stone and wood, although Mandalay style images were also made in metal. The most favored image in the Mandalay style is a seated Buddha in the position of calling the earth to witness, of which thousands were created. There was also a renewed interest in standing images, many of which are shown holding in their right hand a myrobalan fruit, a symbol for spiritual and physical healing. The left hand of these standing images often grasps the edge of the outer robe to hold it open. In other standing images, both hands are used to hold the outer robe open. Images of the reclining Buddha depicting the Parinirvana, also appear but in much fewer numbers than the other two body positions.

Images in the Mandalay style have full, fleshy bodies with some slight difference in the length of the fingers and toes. The head is a broad oval in which the features arranged horizontally. A wide band, often inlaid with faux gems, borders the forehead and resembles a jeweled tiara. Small black curls cover a full usnisha that rarely terminates in a finial. The mark on the forehead, the urna, may have the spiral form of an "om" symbol. The eye brows are lower and more naturalistic, the mouth broader and more naturally smiling than those of Ava Period images. The ears are long, curve slightly and may touch the shoulders. The contours of the body are almost completely lost under heavy robes that are deeply undercut and have undulating hems inset with ornate bands of faux gems.

Tribal Art from Burma  

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I was thinking about Tribal Art from Burma which is not many website or blog are posting.
Like Chin Tribe/ Naga / Karen and other as well...
I like primetive carving form Burma, but all these tribal art are quite rare and hard to find among them.

Anyone ....who can share pictures and informations...that's will be great..please ,,

Late Bagan Standing Buddha/ Los Angeles  

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This is from Los Angeles County Museum of Art,USA. There is only a few pieces from Burma in this museum. This Standing Buddha is Late Bagan Period 13-14th C, Early Ava Period.

For full informations about this statue please click on below

http://collectionsonline.lacma.org/mwebcgi/mweb.exe

Mandalay  

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Friendly, I am not a big fun for Mandalay Pieces even I love Old Mandalay Songs composed by Nan Daw Shae Sayar Tin...A Chute Tan Sayar Pe ...etcAnyway..take a look this Yatanarpon Coin to make fresh for the sake of loving Mandalay!!!

The Konbaung Period: Amarapura  

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please click on later ...

The Post Pagan Period - 14th To 20th Centuries  

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THE GONDEN AGE OF MYANMAR LECTURERS.......COMMING SOON

The Pagan Period: Burma's Classic Age - 11th To 14th Centuries  

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Pagan, the most important historical site in Burma, lies within a major bend of the Irrawaddy River where its east-west course turns and flows south. This capitol city, constructed entirely on the left bank of the river, is in the most arid part of the dry zone of Central Burma. Founded at sometime before the 9th century AD, Pagan was the capitol of the first Burmese kingdom from the 11th-14th centuries after its first great ruler, King Anawrahta, politically consolidated all of central Burma by conquering both the Pyu and the Mon peoples. Art and Architecture flourished during the Pagan Period and classic models were established that were copied by later kingdoms

Bagan (Pagan)is my favourite part & I HAVE SO MANY PICTURES/INFO/THESES/NOTES AND ...

Coin - Silver tanka of Nitichandra, King of Arakan  

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Please let me post under Pyu-Mon for this Coin, even British museum said this is Arakan Coin and I agreed at the moment according to Pro: G H Luce and Dr Than Tun. Museum said it was 6th Century but 70% sure it will be earlier, I would like to say 4-6 th Century.

This is one more Arakan Coin from Brithsh Museum, whcih is pure silver and excellent condition. Please kindly check the below for Museum's original message and picture.

Pyu-Gold Coin/ Halin City  

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Pyu kingdom, Coinage of Halin
Info unit (80 rati, 9.34g), rising sun / wheel with 16 spokes, 6th C.

Pyu- Gold Coin -Beikthano ( Vishnu ) City  

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Burma, Pyu kingdom, city of Beikthano ( Vishnu )


AR ¼ unit (20 rati, 2.47 g),


Rrising sun coinage, 3-6th Century

Pyu ? Arakan ? ....?  

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I would like to say for this coin : Arakan, Sanda Wizaya, BE1072-1093 (1710-1731AD)
Tankah BE1075 (1713AD)

Note and Book about Pyu  

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Pyu Coin from : Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Southeast Asia By Robert S. Wicks

I can't download the whole book, please click on the below link,

http://books.google.com/books?id=Qs1q9VEoEkoC&pg=PA116&lpg=PA116&dq=Ancient+Pyu+Coin&source=bl&ots=M0HRyzlqal&sig=ycD8Tw9cZ9uGuoz5Bl9QRwCL2sQ&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result

Pyu Silver Coins  

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Pyu Gold Coins  

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Pyu Silver Coins  

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Pyu - By Author/creator:Bob Hudson  

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Title: A Pyu Homeland in the Samon Valley: a new theory of the origins of Myanmar's early urban system Date of publication: March 2005 Description/subject: "Archaeological evidence suggests that between about 500 BC and 200 AD, a ricegrowing population was living in a densely settled system of small villages in the Samon Valley in Upper Myanmar. This area was at the crossroads of ancient trade routes. Wealth was accumulating due to agriculture and to access to the copper resources of the Shan hills, the semi-precious stone and iron resources of the Mount Popa plateau, and the salt resources of Halin. This wealth is evident in grave goods unique to the Samon region, which includes items traded from or inspired by Qin and Han Dynasty China. This paper will explore the possibility that the appearance early in the First Millennium AD of the walled Pyu cities of Maingmaw, Beikthano, Halin and Sriksetra, at remarkably consistent distances from the Samon Valley, may be a consequence of intra-regional population flow from the Samon area. While the Pyu cities shared cultural elements such as religious and decorative items, and coins bearing auspicious symbols, with neighbours including Dhanyawadi and Vesali on the west coast, the Dvaravati settlements of Thailand, and trade centres such as Oc Eo in Vietnam, their relationship to the landscape, to each other and to the Samon valley suggests that they formed a distinct economic and cultural system (Gutman & Hudson 2004).

" Author/creator: Bob Hudson Language: English Source/publisher: Proceedings of the Myanmar Historical Commission Golden Jubilee International Conference, Jan12-14, 2005, Yangon Format/size: pdf (642K) Date of entry/update: 01 December 2005

Please click on it http://acl.arts.usyd.edu.au/~hudson/BH2005Jan.pdf

Pyu-Coin Hunting Story of Neil Sowards, DD  

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Coin Hunting in Myanmar (Burma)
By Neil Sowards, D.D.




To most people Burma is on the other side of the world. It is sandwiched between India-Bangladesh, China, and Thailand. I have gone there seventeen times for my church. Since I collect foreign coins, I look for Burmese coins when I have time.
There are no dealers with shops like we have here and in Europe. In the tourist market there are stalls or booths about eight feet wide and twenty feet deep. None deal exclusively in coins but there are two which have a good selection of Burmese antiques and some coins. One of these, owned by Shwe Kyaw [not his real name], has only genuine antiques, while the other has a mixture, but will tell you which is really old and which are recently made for tourists.
Other stalls might have a few coins in a dish along with stamps and notes. Since it is technically illegal for tourists to buy old coins, they are out of sight but they will show them to you if you ask. All speak enough English to do business. There are also some antique shops with coins at two other locations in Yangon (Rangoon) but their selection is rather pitiful. Most say Shwe Kyaw has purchased all their good coins, as he regularly makes the rounds to these shops. So I end up buying most of my coins from him.
He is about retirement age and knows Burmese coins well. He has a display of Burmese coins that is rather extensive and maddening, because they are not for sale. He only sells his duplicates. He knows what is scarce and his prices are not steals but are fair for the rarity. I have purchased two coins from him listed as "rare" with no value given. I got to know him fairly well over the years. I asked him how many serious numismatists there were in Burma, a country of 45 million people. He thought a while, mentally counting them, and said four or five others.
He invited me to his home for dinner and had his son pick me. I thought he had lots of coins at home he wanted to sell me but I soon found out he just wanted to show me some of his prized pieces plus some very rare Burmese antiques. I got the feeling he really enjoyed talking with someone who appreciated what he had and does not press them to buy them. The Burmese meal was delicious.
The Japanese forced the Burmese to accept their paper occupation money during WWII which was issued in huge quantity and seems to be in every antique shop.
While usually I see the same old tired British India and smattering of very common world coins over and over again, there are times when interesting hoards show up.
One time they were demolishing a hundred year old buildings in the downtown area and a hoard of George V 10 Rupee notes was found under the roof. Apparently the hoard had been secreted at the start of World War II but the owner never returned for them. Most were water damaged and discolored. I bought a few. I still see them on every trip so they must not sell well.
One time I found about a dozen 1917 British India Uncirculated 2 anna coins at a reasonable price. They are the only uncirculated silver British India coins I have ever seen in Burma. This last time I found some uncirculated ¼ anna George V bronze coins in a tray with pure junk. They were beautiful but not cheap.
Another time I stumbled upon a street market which apparently only operated on Saturday nights. Small dealers would spread out a cloth and display their old stuff on it. I thought they were really optimistic that someone would buy any of their junk. But I did find several counterfeit ¼ anna bronze coins from British India. When they were made, a rupee was 33 cents and there were 12 annas to a rupee so these had a face value of ½ cent. It hardly seems worth the effort to counterfeit a ½ cent coin! Since it was illegal for them to be selling without a license, they could quickly grab the corners of their display cloth and gather up their merchandise and flee when the police came wanting bribes to leave them alone.
The most common foreign coin in Burma and Thailand is the counterfeit 1804 U.S. silver dollar in nickel. They seem to be everywhere and always with a good story. Most do not believe me when I tell them they are worthless.
Another time I found in a shop a very large lead coin 73 mm across and weighing 14 ounces. At that time I hadn’t seen M. Robinson’s book, The Lead Coins of Pegu and Tenasserim, so I didn’t know if it was a coin or a weight. I bought it on speculation and it turned out to be a good buy.
Another time I viewed some coins at a shop but they were overpriced. After I left, a man followed me and invited me to his apartment of view his coins. I followed him up a narrow, dark stair shaft wondering if I had made a big mistake. It did turn out he had a big lot of revenue stamped paper which I bought and a CMA medal from WWII. This medal was issued in error when a message from the marauders with CMA in it was interpreted as meaning Citation for Military Assistance when it really meant comma! One hundred were issued and they are quite scarce. He wanted $200 for it without its ribbon. I regretfully declined.
Outside of Rangoon coins can sometimes be found at the stalls at pagodas. Pegu, now called Bago, which in ancient days was Pyu, has stalls that have lead coins from 500 AD to about 1,000 AD. It is a matter of luck if you find any coins in Taunggyi, Inle Lake, Mandalay, or Bagan. I have purchased less than a dozen from these locations in seventeen visits because they mostly have worn out British India and 1948-90 Burmese coins which they value at a much higher price than they are worth.
While one will never get rich buying coins in Burma, it is an interesting place where one can turn up unlisted early coins. The people are wonderful and friendly.


Photo caption:



Top left: Kingdom of Pyu lead coin 500-800 AD, bird left.
Top right Kingdom of Funan, silver 190-550 AD, rising sun.
Center: Srekshetra silver 1/100 unit 750-832 AD unknown symbol
Bottom Right: Sanda Thudhamma Silver 1652 AD Burmese writing.
U. S. Dime is reference as to size.




Silver tanka of the Pyu kings/ British Museum  

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Silver tanka of the Pyu kings
Shrikshetra, Burma (Myanmar)8th century AD
Indian symbolism reaches Burma


In the eighth century, eastern Burma was ruled by the Pyu peoples, who issued coins with designs derived from those of the kingdom of Arakan to the west. On this example, the obverse (front) of the coin shows a throne tied with royal diadems in the centre and surmounted by flames.
The reverse shows symbols associated with Indian deities and the more ancient Indian Creation myth. The dominant image is the symbol of shrivatsa, representing Shri, the goddess of wealth and good fortune. Inside this symbol is a mountain, representing Shiva, the god of contrasting forces (good and evil; fertility and asceticism). The mountain also represents the earth, rising out of the wavy lines of the ocean below. Above them, the moon (a circle) and sun (a star shape) signify the heavens. On the left is a thunderbolt, emblem of Indra, god of the heavens, and on the right, the conch shell associated with Vishnu, god of creation and preserver of the cosmic system.
J. Cribb, B. Cook and I. Carradice, The coin atlas (London and Sydney, Macdonald Illustrated, 1990)
J. Williams (ed.), Money: a history (London, The British Museum Press, 1997)

Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra -Pyu  

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Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra

Most images of the Buddha are carved in high relief with a considerable stele backing. Several sets of these monumental images have been found arranged so that two triads face one another. This practice occurs only during the Pyu Period and may hearken back to the megaliths of a much earlier time.

A number of Buddha images were found within or outside the ancient city. A great number of clay votive tablets have come to light as well as several bronze molds that were used to stamp them out. These tablets were placed in the foundation and deposit boxes of stupas and temples during construction as a means to increase their sanctity as well as the spiritual merit of the donor. An example of this practice is the placement by King Anawratha of votive tablets within the Bawbawgyi stupa; each displays fifty small images of the Buddha.

Individual images at Srikshetra represent a number of events in Gautama Buddha’s life: The Birth, The Prince contemplating the Mysteries of Life, Meditation, one of the most elaborate presentations of the First Sermon to be found in Burma, Teaching with both hands in vitarka mudra, the Enlightenment using both right and left hands for earth touching, the earliest representation of the earth goddess in Burma in which she is shown with two long tresses of hair, the Miracle of Double Appearances, Overcoming the Nalagiri Elephant and Holding the alms bowl. In later presentations these events are often assigned much less importance and appear, if at all, within a small frame in a wall painting or as a background embellishment to the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Several bronze images believed to depict Maitreya have come to light, although they may be the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara without his usual identifying marks. However, one of these curious images has the name Maitreya (incorrectly?) written on its base. The interest in Maitreya, the Buddha as well as the Bodhisattva of the Future (like Gautama Buddha, he is both a Theravada and Mahayanna deity), arises from a belief that he will return to save the world. This concern with Maiteya as a savior figure continues during the Pagan Period where it is an inspiration for creating votive plaques and for the creation of one of the world’s rare building types: pentagonal temples that have a shrine for each of the four Buddhas of the Past as well as one for Maitreya.

Most sculptures at Srikshetra are typically in high relief with a heavy stele backing, although some large single sculptures in the round have been discovered. One such sculpture from the Kan-wet-khaung-gon mound is made of stone and depicts the Buddha in a seated meditation posture with two hands placed on his lap. This is a particularly important image, not only because it is free standing but because it can be dated to the late 7th century by the bilingual inscription on its base. The inscription is fortunately not only in Pyu but Sanskrit as well, the script of which can be dated. This image is then one of the few dated benchmarks that can be used to establish a developmental chronology for Pyu sculpture.

Of particular interest is a cylindrical gilded silver casket found in the relic chamber of the Khin Ba mound. In a style derived from the North Indian Gupta style, it is embossed with the last four Buddhas of the present world cycle seated in the earth-touching posture with a standing disciple between each of them. The casket has a flat lid. A banyan tree rises from its center that was once adorned with metal twigs and leaves. Inscribed around the rim of the lid is a Pyu-Pali inscription in South Indian characters. The inscription identifies each Buddha by name as well as their disciples; it also records two names, probably of donors. A smaller reliquary casket shaped like a cube is without a lid or base and has a meditating Buddha seated on each face. Both reliquaries are executed in a precise and beautiful repousse technique.

It is not possible to give a detailed description of the Pyu style of image because so many different styles co-existed. Indeed, images that turn up and don’t fit any of the known Burmese styles, are frequently, and often inaccurately, dubbed “Pyu”.

Pyu-Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra  

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Votive tablet with "lotus bud" stupas

Srikshetra: Sculpture  

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Srikshetra: Sculpture

Srikshetra, in comparison to other Pyu sites, is unusual because of the greater number as well as complexity of the images and artifacts that have come to light. The diversity is found not only in subject matter but in iconography as well. Also, objects were created by a variety of techniques and media: for example, carved stone, cast bronze, gilded repousse silver, beaten and repousse gold, inscribed copper, engraved gems, molded and inscribed clay. Consequently, the artistic diversity of the Pyu Period is scarcely rivaled by later periods in Burmese history where the number of objects available for study is vastly larger. A number of Pyu art objects and artifacts are unique or occur only during this Period. In contrast, objects from later periods are often repetitious so that by the nineteenth century, Buddha images are almost always shown in a single iconographic mode, that of “earth touching” or “calling the earth to witness”.

The sculpture from Srikshetra can be divided into categories according to religious affiliation although the characteristics of some objects such as Pyu coins may be equivocal. The sculpture will be discussed here according to religion: Theravada Buddhist, Mahayanna Buddhist, Hindu, Animist and Secular.

Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra -Pyu  

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Three of the identical five Buddhas of the past, stone slab from Khin Ba’s mound

Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra - Pyu  

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Four earth touching Buddhas, terra cotta

Pyu-Theravada Buddhist Sculpture at Srikshetra  

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Gautama Buddha preaching the First Sermon

Pyu-Mon Refrence Books Info  

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Somes book about Pyu-Mon, Burma


The Pre-Pagan Period: The Mon and Pyu City States -Bibliography

Aung Thaw, Excavations at Beikthano (Rangoon, Ministry of Union Culture, 1968).

Aung Thaw, Historical Sites in Burma (Rangoon, Ministry of Union Culture, 1972).

Michael Aung Thwin, “Burma Before Pagan: The Status of Archeology Today”, Asian Perspectives, XXV, (1982-83), pp. 121. [Published 1988]

John Guy, “The Art of the Pyu and the Mon” in Donald Stadner, ed., The Art of Burma, New Studies (Mumbai, Marg Publications, 1999), pp. 13-28.

G. H. Luce, Phases of Pre Pagan Burma (Oxford, 1985), vol.1 & 2.

Donald Stadner, “The Art of Burma” in Maud Girard-Geslan…[et al.], The Art of Southeast Asia (New York, Harry N. Abrams, 1997), pp.39-92.

Janice Stargardt, The Ancient Pyu of Burma, Vol. I (Cambridge and Singapore, PACSEA and ISEAS, 1990).

Paul Wheatley, Nagara and Commandery: Origins of the Southeast Asian Urban Traditions (Chicago, 1983).

Robert S. Wicks, “The Ancient Coinage of Mainland Southeast Asia, Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, XVI, no. 2 (September 1985), pp. 195-217.

Robert S. Wicks, Money, Markets, and Trade in Early Southeast Asia: The Development of Indigenous Monetary Systems to AD 1400 (Ithaca, Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1992).

Pyu Stone Inscreption  

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Pyu Stone Inscreption  

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