Buddha protected by Naga Muchalinda
Cambodia, 11th or 14h century
Sandstone

This object is a sculpture made up of sandstone.
Carved into two main figures – A meditating Buddha, sitting on seven snakes seemingly forming as a shelter.
The human-like figure personify Buddha due to its big ears, long elongated eyes, brows that reaches the outward corner of his eyes, long slender fingers and meditating pose.

From the first glance, having a snake around a buddha may seems burlesque until I noticed that Buddha is sitting on the coiled snake and the snake is sheltering Buddha facing front which suggest to me that the snakes are protecting the meditating Buddha.

The symmetrical sculpture with its heavy base ostensibly forms a triangle sharp giving off a serenity vibe, which serve its purpose for religious worshipping. The entire sculpture scale that is comparable to a human sitting down may be served as a meditating ceremonial sculpture.