Thai Copper Standing Buddha

One palm raised, the other lowered. The meaning has never needed translation.

This standing Buddha comes from Thailand and dates to the 19th century, made of copper. Images of the Buddha were made for temples and households as focuses of devotion, and commissioning one is widely understood in Buddhist Thailand as an act of merit. The figure stands upright on a lotus base, robe falling in long straight panels to a rippled hem. A small flame rises from the curled hair. Faint reds and golds show beneath the dark surface. Twenty-five inches high.

Stillness, held upright.