Southeast Asia, Thailand, ca. mid-20th century CE. This is a beautiful pair of wooden temple guardian figures known as Thepphanom, kneeling with their hands clasped together in a praying or respectful wai gesture, their surfaces studded with reflective glass. They represent brother and sister, their bodies painted with glimmering gold and silver hues and their eyes in a black and white matte pigment. They are richly adorned in traditional sampot skirts with jewelry: arm bands, necklaces, earrings, and a flaming ushnisha headdress and panels of wings at their shoulders and ears. Hundreds of shards from mirrors and green glass are imbedded into their adornments, which glitter and sparkle in the light to emphasize the celestial aspect of these divine beings. The Thepphanom came to earth when Buddha reached enlightenment, to serve as his protectors and later as guardians to temple and sacred texts, and their forms are based on Apsaras and Gandharvas - the devas who inhabit higher realms. Size of each (both are relatively similar): 14" L x 13" W x 37" H (35.6 cm x 33 cm x 94 cm)

Provenance: private Lumberton, Texas, USA collection, acquired before 2010

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#170081

Stable fissures along shoulders and elbows of both. Stable pressure fissure on the skirt of one. Ushnisha headdress spire is removable via a tenon peg on both. Some losses to glass inlays and flaking and chipping to painted surface, but overall, well preserved with only minor age and exposure related wear.