A distinctive style of sculpture flourished in central Thailand from the seventh to tenth centuries under an obscure Mon-speaking kingdom known as Dvaravati, where Buddhism was the predominant religion. Characteristic of the Mon-Dvaravati style, this Buddha holds both hands in the gesture of teaching (vitarkamudra), and his smooth, symmetrical robe emphasizes the idealized physique and vital life or breath (prana), of the enlightened being.