Crowned Buddha statue, in wood, lacquered red, black and gold.

Retour de Voyage found this Buddha in Burma, in the Shan State. He is depicted sitting on a three-headed elephant. It was carved to decorate a monastery or a palace of a rich family.

This Buddha is sitting on a three-headed elephant, in lotus position (padmasana). The left hand on the knees, palm facing the sky symbolizes meditation. The right hand rests palm down on the right knee with the fingers pointing toward the earth.

The three-headed elephant comes from the Hindu religion, in which Airavata is a white elephant carrying the god Indra. It is a gigantic elephant, (even if this is not the case in this representation where the statue of Buddha is disproportionately big compared to the elephant, to emphasize the importance of Buddha) represented with three, sometimes 33 heads. Before 1939, it appeared on the flags and arms of Siam. Myth says that this elephant is capable of producing clouds.