This figure stands with both hands in vitarka mudra (gesture of argumentation, with the forefinger and thumb forming a circle). The Buddha's features, also known as lakshana, are recognisable: the large curls of hair rise to a protuberance or ushnisha (which symbolises his enlightenment), where there is a setting, probably for a gem stone. The unadorned earlobes, which extend almost to the shoulders, are a reminder of the Buddha's past life as a prince and his rejection of the material world.This image was an object of veneration in a Khmer temple. It was one of several provincial art styles associated with the early Khmer or pre-Angkor period.Standing images of the unadorned Buddha with hands in various gestures have been found in the lower Mekong Delta at sites perhaps associated wtih Angkor Borei, one of the important early Khmer centres of Buddhism.
