Relief of standing Buddha

The facial features of this image from Myanmar (Burma)—its broad forehead, cheekbones, and mouth, and its eyebrows connecting over the nose—resemble those of sculptures associated with the Mon kingdom of Hariphunchai in north central Thailand. The Mons are an ethnic group speaking a language related not to Burmese or Thai but to Cambodian. Historically, they seem to have lived in parts of central mainland Southeast Asia, particularly southern Myanmar and adjacent areas of Thailand. Mon speakers still live in some of these areas., The Kingdom of Bagan (Pagan), approx. 1000–1300

Several of the objects in this case were made in the powerful Burmese kingdom of Bagan (Pagan). The Buddhist rulers of Bagan built, in their capital, hundreds of large temples of brick and stucco, many of which survive today. Inside the temples, the walls were often painted in brilliantly colored scenes from the life of the Buddha and other Buddhist subjects, and lined with sculptures.

Bagan had cultural and artistic ties with the homeland of Buddhism in eastern India. (The art of eastern India is highlighted in Gallery 2.) Few ancient Buddhist temples have survived in eastern India, so the beautiful temples of Bagan are the best remaining suggestion of the architecture of the center of the Buddhist world.