A 17th Century Giltwood and Polychrome Burmese Statue of a Monk, holding an alms bowl and standing barefoot atop a lotus representing enlightenment, the whole raised on a later custom ebonized base. The practice of collecting alms was to provide people the opportunity to show generosity; by giving alms, one gets closer to reaching nirvana. Statues of Burmese monks were used as decoration in monasteries as a source of inspiration for young monks
Provenance: from the Estate of Kenneth Smiser, San Francisco