This sculpture is one of a group of Buddhist bronzes discovered at the Prasat Hin Khao Plai Bat II temple, near Prakhon Chai in Thailand, which reflect Cambodian, Indian, and Mon influences. This characteristic and their high quality mark them as the mature products of important workshops with obvious connections to two of the major early centers of sculpture in central Thailand, Si Thep and Lop Buri. They are cast in bronze of a high tin content, which lends them a silvery sheen.Most of the bronzes depict bodhisattvas. This one, the largest of the group, is Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Infinite Compassion. He is identified by the seated image of Amitabha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise and Avalokiteshvara's spiritual father, placed in his elaborate hair arrangement. The eyes are inlaid with silver and the irises with black glass or obsidian.
