Religious objects - Asia - Votive plaques (No reserve price)

Small collection of five terracotta votive plaques, displaying a beautiful natural antique patina.

Small in size (4.5 x 2.8 cm), they are remarkably well preserved and, despite the passage of time, the delicate carved details are perfectly visible.

Although all seemingly issued from the same mold and identical, they are not all strictly alike, differences manifesting in color and traces of high-temperature firing.

An interesting detail is that it is this firing that gives them an enigmatic material, extremely hard and with a metallic ring, which is undoubtedly also due to the quality of the clay used.

These plaques, which embody the artistic and spiritual traditions of Southeast Asian Buddhism, were used in temples and shrines and served as personal offerings that materialized the connection between believers and the divine. They were also affixed to or mounted on portable altars made of wood, stone, or even canvas.

They depict the Buddha seated in the earth-touching posture, or Bhumisparsa Mudra, his right hand resting on the ground near his knee, his left holding the myrobalan fruit, a symbol of the spiritual and physical healing power of his teaching.

Modest in size, these plaques nevertheless possess a striking presence and radiance, and they emit an atmosphere of calm and serenity wherever they are placed.