Bejeweled Rom

[Ptolomeo Shop]

Althoughthe Buddha is more often shown in plain robes, this highly ornamented representation is also recognizable as the Buddha because of the characteristic position and hand gesture. Many images of the Buddha show him seated with legs folded and with his right hand reaching down to call on the earth as a witness in his struggle with the demon Mara, who represents craving, illusion, and death.

Such an elaborate throne and Buddha image would have been an important fixture of a 19th-century Buddhist temple in Burma (now Myanmar), and similar ones can still be seen in temples there today. The significance of the crowned and bejeweled Buddha image varied in different places and periods. In Thailand and Myanmar, the story of Jambupati offers an explanation: At the beginning of his spiritual quest, the young prince who became the Buddha discarded his royal garments and put on a robe made of rags. After the prince attained buddhahood, an arrogant king named Jambupati attempted to display his superiority to all the other kings of the world. In response, the Buddha manifested himself enthroned in a magically created palace, adorned with royal finery, to teach Jambupati that the grandeur of the Buddha and his message vastly outshines that of earthly kingship. The Buddha then preached to Jambupati of the emptiness of riches, the inevitability of suffering, and the impermanence of all things.

Like royal thrones of Myanmar (Burma), this throne shrine has multiple tiers that step inward then outward again (see image gallery above). The lower tiers refer to mountain ranges that in Buddhist cosmology make up the world, with Mount Meru as the central axis. The upper tiers refer to the higher heavens.

At the top of this throne shrine is a miniature parasol, an ancient royal symbol (see image gallery above). In India and Southeast Asia, parasols were (and sometimes still are) held over kings and other revered persons to protect them from the sun and elements. Eventually the parasol became a symbol of high rank.

Expert artisans carved teakwood into a variety of intricate designs, then they coated it with red lacquer and gold leaf and encrusted it with jewel-like pieces of mirrored glass, creating a resplendent effect that recalls the art of the goldsmith. In the often hot, damp climate of Myanmar (Burma), wood is vulnerable to damage from moisture and termites. Coating it with lacquer helps protect the wood.

The Burmese kingdom began the 19th century strong and vigorous. Little by little, though, it lost territory to the British. When Mandalay was founded as the new capital in 1857, all of the rich coastal areas of Burma were in British hands, and Mandalay could conduct trade only through the British. Even so, the Mandalay period saw a flourishing of architecture and other arts as well as music and theater. The new capital of Mandalay retained power only until 1885, when British forces occupied the city and sent the king into exile.

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