Szilágyi András (szerk.): Ars Decorativa 18. (Budapest, 1999)

Tatjana KARDOS: Buddha Statuette with votive inscription from Laos

could help the orderer to pass into the Definitive Nirvana." Our inscription must have been composed by a monk familiar with Dhamma (tham) script, who knew the Pali language or at least could use the separate Pali words correctly, and who knew the standards for composition of such inscriptions. As our inscription is relatively new, the date is given according to the Gregorian calendar as well as to the traditional Laolunisolar calendar. The salutation (double sadu here) and the concluding formula are used in form which have become simplified over time. The offering was made in the rainy season, four days after the regular monastic holy day festival held at full moon,

12 and a month before the three month Lent period of the monks.

13 The carver is not be mentioned in the inscriptions; he could have been either a monk or a member of the laity.

14 The faithful leave votive statuettes in the monasteries. The statuettes are put behind freestanding altars, or outside the sanctuary at the base-moulding of the back wall. There are many votive statuettes in caves as well. Presumably our statuette was left in the monastery, and was repainted there.

15 The collector received the statuette as a gift from a village headman in the vicinity of Luang Prabang in the 1908s.'

6 BIBLIOGRAPHY Deshpande O. P.: Lacquered Thai Statuettes at the Hermitage, in: Oriental Art Summer 1995. Vol. X; 1 No 2. pp. 10-16. Diskul M. C. Subhadradis: A Dated Crowned Buddha Image from Thailand in: Artibus Asiae Vol. XXIV. 3/4.1961. pp. 409-416. Fajcsák Gy., Renner Zs.: Southeast Asian Buddhist Art. Supplement/ List of Objects. Budapest 1996. Gabaude L.: Les cetiya de sable au Laos et en Thaïlande. École Française d' Extreme - Orient. Paris 1979. Griswold A. B.: Five Chieng Sèn Bronzes of the Eighteenth Century in: Arts Asiatique tome VII. -fasc. 1. Paris 1960. Griswold A. B.: The Conversion of Jambupati. Notes on the Art of Siam, No. 5. in: Artibus Asiae Vol. XXIV. 1961. pp 295-299. Tongkamwan Ch.: A Tai Inscription in the Museum at Pagan, Burma in: Artibus Asiae Vol. XXIV. 1961. 3/4 pp. 249-251. NOTES 'Cat. No. 148. (Fajcsák-Renner p. 20.) 2

The exclusively monastic Dhamma script supposedly originated from the Aksara Món (which means "script of the town") used in the neighbouring town of Chien Mai. The Aksara Món doubtless dates back to the script of the old Mon city of Haripunjaya (Griswold 1960 p. 14.). There is another script, tua lao in use for secular texts, and for literary works in Laos. "Griswold 1960 pp. 14, 18. This system of transliteration was worked out by M. Coedès (Recueil des inscripions du Siam vol. 1. Bangkok 1924.) and widely used for transcription of religious and historical texts of the theravada cultures because it helps find unambiguously the original forms of the words of Pali origin. To facilitate printing, Mr. Griswold transcribed some of the vowels using accents. There are very useful comparative tables for handwriting forms and for the transliteration of different Thai scripts (kham, tham, jom) used for religious texts (Gabaude pp. 83-90). 4

The inscription is dated according to the Gregorian style, which was possible from the end of 19th century, from the beginning of the French protectorate. The upper part of the last number is missing; the remaining detail resem-