The Pala style of eastern India had a profound impact on the arts of Asia. The Pala territories included most of the major Buddhist pilgrimage sites, and pilgrims often returned home with portable icons, which exerted a strong influence on the artists of their native lands. This Buddha was purportedly found in Burma; a similar example in the Museum's collection has a replaced halo of early Thai manufacture, indicating that it was exported to Thailand, probably by the eleventh century. Stylistically, both Buddhas are related to the hoard of bronzes found in 1930 around the remains of the monastery of Kurkihar near Bodh Gaya. This Buddha is a particularly fine example of the style and is one of the few Pala bronzes to retain some of its original stone inlays.

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