This figure of Buddha sits serenely with right hand resting on the left, or dhyana mudra (gesture of meditation). The posture represents the attainment of Enlightenment, and this is reinforced by the flame finial emerging from his head. This dramatic feature and the finely delineated facial features such as the arched eyebrows and elongated earlobes hark back to attributes found in classic Sukhothai art, which were established some four hundred years earlier. Buddha images in the Rattanakosin style are highly decorative, with emphasis given to the tactile qualities, such as the texture of the robes. On this Buddha, a fine relief pattern made with lacquer decorates the robes, which shimmer from pieces of mirror glass and gold leaf. The downward gaze is intensified by the luminous mother-of-pearl inlaid to make the whites of the eyes.
