This group of marble figures shows Buddha with four of his five original disciples. Initially skeptical of the Buddha's methods, these monks became his earliest disciples after he attained enlightenment.Marble increasingly replaced carved sandstone images around the 17th century, or late Ava Period (1364-1752), and continued to be produced since then. The merit-making practice of donating images to the temple continues today and carved marble images finished with lacquer, gilding and paint are still made in Mandalay.
