Manufacturing Techniques of Ancient Metal Buddha Statues from Archaeological Sites in Bagan, Myanmar

Abstract

This study intends to identify manufacturing techniques, including casting and alloy composition, of nine metal Buddha statues excavated from archaeological sites in Bagan, Myanmar. Two Buddha statues from Pyu city state(2nd to 9th century) contain Cu-Sn alloy(including <1 wt% Fe), with different relatively high percentages of Sn(16 wt% and 25 wt%) identified from each Buddha statue, and no Pb detected. Five Buddha statues from the Bagan dynasty contain various alloy ratios of Cu-Sn(including <1 wt% Pb), Cu-Sn-Pb, and Cu-Sn-Zn-Pb. All Buddha statues appear to be fabricated by casting, as there is no evidence of other heat treatments. The silver Buddha statue manufactured in the 18th century includes >1% Cu besides silver with no additional metallic components identified. The bronze Buddha statue anufactured in the Konbaung dynasty(18th century) is of Cu-Sn-Pb alloy. The Buddha statues of Pyu was alloy of Cu-Sn without Pb including ahigh percentage of The Buddha statues of both the Bagan and Konbaung dynasties are comprised of ternary Cu-Sn-Pb alloys, with a heterogeneous distribution of lead and tin. Some of Buddha statues of the Bagan dynasty have similar alloy ratios as those of Pyu, suggesting that similar manufacturing techniques were used.