A Thai gilt lacquered bronze figure of Phra Malai, Rattanakosin, 19th C.

拍品描述

A Thai gilt lacquered bronze figure of Phra Malai, Rattanakosin, 19th C. H 15,5 cm Phra Malai Kham Luang is the royal version of a Thai legendary poem of the Sri Lankan monk Arhat Maliyadeva, whose stories are popular in Thai Theravada Buddhism. The vernacular version is known as Phra Malai Klon Suat. Phra Malai is the subject of numerous palm-leaf manuscripts ('bai lan'), folding books ('samut khoi') and artworks. His story, which includes concepts such as reincarnation, merit, and Buddhist cosmology, was a popular part of Thai funeral practices in the 19th C. Phra Malai, according to the various versions of the story, was a Buddhist monk who accumulated so much merit that he acquired great supernatural abilities. Using his powers, he traveled to the various hells, where he meets the suffering denizens and is implored to have their living relatives make merit on their behalf. He later travelled to the heavenly realms of the devas, Trāyastriṃśa and Tushita, where he meets Indra and the future Buddha Maitreya, who is still a Bodhisattva, (who is not a Buddha yet), who instruct him further in merit-making.

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