"...The present paper has as its primary concern the exemplification of the way religious visual culture may serve as a marker of ethnicity and nationalism. Examples are taken from Buddhist visual culture in the Eastern Shan State of Myanmar. The visual objects considered in this discussion are two very special Buddha statues that can, in different ways, convey Burmese ethnic and religious identity and be seen as elements in the Burmanization of the Shan State. In order to understand the role of these objects, this paper will also discuss, from a perspective of Southeast Asian history, the genuineness of Buddha statues and the reason why some Buddhist images and religious buildings are more sacred than others..."