Earth Touching Buddha Statue 15.5"

The Sukhothai style Buddha is sitting in the Earth Touching, Calling the Earth to Witness, or The victory over (Subduing) Mara position. He sits with folded legs (right on top of the left). The left hand is held in his lap with the palm facing upward. The right hand extends over the right thigh, near the knee, with the fingers pointing towards the ground, palm inward.

Sukhothai art refers to the art and style of the Sukhothai Empire period. It was was inspired by Theravada Buddhism which created a new style in which spiritual serenity is merged with human form and reflected in the numerous images of the Buddha. Sculptors did not base their images on strict human form but on interpretations of metaphors from religious verse and Pali language scriptures.

The first thing one sees about this style is the flame shaped finial emerging top of the head of the Buddha.  The face is round and smiling, with high curving highbrows, a hooked nose and mostly narrow lips.  The eyes are down cast as if in meditation.  The Buddha has a wealth of curls on his head which look like snail shells.  His earlobes are stretched.  This is from years of Siddhartha wearing heavy earrings from his princely youth. 

Exporting Buddhas from Thailand:  As a Thai customs formality, Buddha sculptures are restricted to be exported out of the country.  The original law was established to protect Thailand's ancient religious artifacts and antique Buddha images from being stolen and sold illegally.  Until recently, this law was not actively enforced on newly made Buddha statues. In 2010, Lotus Sculpture experienced containers being confiscated en route to the USA, thus making importing increasingly difficult and costly.  This may lead to an end of importing Thai Buddhist images altogether, which would be a tragedy to all involved; our customers; our business; and especially for the artists who rely on selling Buddhist art to earn a living.  It is our view that we are promoting the export of a beautiful art and supplying images for personal religious practice, rather than causing any harm to Thailand or Buddhism.