Located on the west bank of Irrawaddy river, a mere 230 meters SE of the Mingun Pahtodawgyi, the Settawya Pagoda is a small, whitewashed Buddhist chapel constructed along classical Pagan lines, built to house a marble footprint of the Buddha. It was build between 1804 and 1811 under the direction of King Bodawpaya Konbaung (r. 1782-1819), who spent most of his attention on the much grander but ill-fated Mingun Pahtodawgyi pagoda. The completed temple included a set of marble stairs leading down to the river, creating a grand entrance for visitors approaching by water.
The devastating earthquake that hit the region in 1839 seems to have largely spared the Settawya, probably because it was neither particularly tall nor large. However, a large fragment of masonry from the cornice or the crowning stupa broke off from the monument, landing immediately to the west where it still rests. As the main object of devotion is a marble footprint of the Buddha, the temple lacks any large seated Buddha images or mural paintings that would likely have been included if the temple were a faithful reproduction of Pagan-era models. On the staircase can be seen two monks in kasaya, about which I wrote here.
About the stamp
The stamp, depicting the national flower of Myanmar (Burma padauk / Pterocarpus macrocarpus, which is associated with the Thingyan period, Burmese New Year, usually mid-April), was issued on November 11, 2017 to mark The 50th Anniversary of ASEAN.
References
Settawya Pagoda, Mingun, Myanmar - Asian Historical Architecture
Sender: Pumipat
Sent from Yangon (Yangon / Myanmar), on 24.12.2017
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