Early History/ Contents

Religious sculpture

Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman

In the absence of grand architectural remains like Indonesia's Borobudur and Cambodia's Angkor Wat, archaeologists and historians studying Malaysia's early historical era place great importance on artefacts, particularly the finds of Buddhist and Hindu images. Dating from the 5th century CE, these sculptures have made a major contribution not only to the understanding of early Malaysian social and cultural life, but also to the role of religion and politics throughout South and Southeast Asia during that time.

  • Information in the full article includes
  • Bronze Buddhist images
  • Sculptures from Pengkalan Bujang
  • Buddhist images from Sungai Mas
  • Hindu images from South Kedah
Bronze Buddha

Carved from a mud-brick block, this eroded Buddha image unearthed at Pengkalan Bujang in the Bujang Valley is presumed to date from the 10th to the 11th century CE.