The nose is either sharply pointed, or Hat with wide nostrils. The mouth is small and upturned in a half smile. The face is framed by a fillet band, with a high usnisha above placed fairly well forward on the head and surmounted by a tall gourd-like finial. The large ears swing outwards to touch the shoulders. The neck is longer than a Burmese Buddha's and three characteristic creases on the neck are visible. Like their Burmese counterparts, Shan Buddhas usually sit in the lotus position with the right hand touching the earth. The fingers are usually of the same length and the thumbs are prominent. The thumb of the left hand is sometimes supported by a plug of bronze in the palm of the hand.

The Shan Buddha sits on a waisted throne above three to five steps. The throne is triangular in shape except for a flat part at the back on which inscriptions might be made. The clothing is fairly light. The main garment sweeps diagonally from the left and covers the right nipple before disappearing under the right arm. The outer garment falls in three folds over the left side of the chest and down the back. The right shoulder is usually bare, although in some instances it is covered with a small shoulder cape, suggestive of Chinese influence. Incising plays an important part in the decoration of a Shan image, the facial details and clothing usually being shown by incising rather than moulding. The Shans, too, have expressed a fondness for the crowned image and pleasing examples have been found.

The head is covered by a cap of beaded lacquer curls while the usnisha is topped by a small bulbous finial. All are portrayed in the earth touching mudra with fingers of equal length. Simple clothing lines are lightly etched in on the red or black lacquer coating which covers the whole image. Some Buddha images sit on high waisted thrones while others sit on a platform supported by three to five elephants. The images vary in size from about 20 inches for a Buddha on a plain pedestal to 40 inches high for one mounted on elephants.

As in images in marble and wood, the predominant style in metal today is the so-called Mandalay style which evolved during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Its blandly attractive, slightly Mongoloid face framed by a wide fillet band, and its heavily folded robes, have been beautifully transposed into bronze and other metals. Most of the new images in pagodas throughout the country are in this style. The Shwedagon in Rangoon has become a virtual repository for images of this type.

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Data Reference: Sylvia Fraser-Lu
Buddha Images : Arts of Asia March/April 1981 issue