‘SOME RECENTLY ACQUIRED SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART’

JONATHAN TUCKER ANTONIA TOZER ASIAN ART 37 Bury Street St James's London SW1Y 6AU UK www.asianartresource.com ‘SOME RECENTLY ACQUIRED SOUTHEAST ASIAN WORKS OF ART’ For further information and detailed images please contact Jonathan Tucker on 44 (0)20 7839 3414, e-mail jonathantucker1@aol.com Please note: Prices do not include delivery All works of art are for sale subject to availability, unless previously sold

1.

Phnom Penh Museum example dated 1919 AD

1] G646 WOODEN SEATED BUDDHA WITH AN ALMS BOWL CAMBODIA POST-ANGKOR PERIOD, LATE 19TH CENTURY H. 54 CMS, 21 INS A charming and unusual carved lacquered and gilded wood figure of Buddha, seated in virasana with his hands raised to present an alms bowl, the face calm and serene with a domed usnisha highlighted in black lacquer; wearing a pleated sanghati with one shoulder exposed.

Price: ÂŁ6,000=GBP Few wooden images remain from this period because of the ravages of time and insects. This example has survived in excellent condition, most likely because of the insect repelling qualities of the lacquer with which it is coated. For a discussion of Post-Angkor wooden Buddhas, see page 174 in M. Giteau, Khmer Sculpture and the Angkor Civilisation, London: Thames and Hudson, 1965. Giteau writes that the figures are mostly of Koki wood (Hopea species). The National Museum, Phnom Penh has a number of similar figures - see, for example, the slightly later example (dated 1919 AD) on p. 30 in Khun Samen, Post-Angkorian Buddha, Exhibition catalogue, National Museum, Phnom Penh, 2000.

PROVENANCE: Private German collection.

2.

A Balinese farmer in a similar pose 2] ST1023 POLISHED HARDWOOD FIGURE OF A FARMER TYING A RICE BALE INDONESIA, BALI PROBABLY FROM MAS, UBUD MID-20TH CENTURY HT. 16 INS, 41 CMS. An outstanding polished hardwood figure of a farmer, wearing a short loin-cloth and a palm-leaf hat, his facial features and musculature well defined, kneeling to tie a rice bale.

Price: £2,000=GBP For more on Balinese wood carving, see the following link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balinese_art#Wood_carving For a fine example of Balinese secular sculpture of this type, see cat. no. 172, p. 173 in Urs Ramseyer, The Art and Culture of Bali, Basel: Museum der Kulturen, 2002.

PROVENANCE: Private English collection

3.

3] G644.1 BRONZE FIGURE OF SEATED BUDDHA BURMA, MANDALAY PERIOD 19TH CENTURY H. 52.5 CMS, 20 ¾ INS A large, finely cast bronze figure of the Buddha seated in vajrasana, his right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) and his left resting in his lap in dhyanamudra (the gesture of meditation); the face oval with a band below the hairline, the mouth set in a gentle smile, wearing a pleated sanghati Price: £5,000=GBP For a fine example of a seated marble Buddha of this type in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see no. 8 in J. Lowry, Burmese Art, London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1974.

PROVENANCE: Private Dutch collection.

Victoria & Albert Museum example

4.

4] G644.2 BRONZE FIGURE OF SEATED BUDDHA WITH INSCRIPTION BURMA, MANDALAY PERIOD 19TH CENTURY H. 46 CMS, 18 INS A large, finely cast bronze figure of the Buddha seated in vajrasana, his right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) and his left resting in his lap in dhyanamudra (the gesture of meditation); the face oval with a band below the hairline, the mouth set in a gentle smile, wearing a pleated sanghati , the front with a dedicatory inscription.

Price: £5,000=GBP For a fine example of a seated marble Buddha of this type in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see no. 8 in J. Lowry, Burmese Art, London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1974.

PROVENANCE: Private Dutch collection.

Victoria & Albert Museum example

5.

5] G647 STANDING BRONZE BUDDHA THAILAND, AYUTTHAYA PERIOD 18TH CENTURY H. 34 CMS, 13 ½ INS. A graceful bronze figure of Buddha standing with his feet slightly apart, both hands raised in abhayamudra (the gesture of dispelling fear), the face calm and smiling beneath a conical chignon rising to a flame finial; the sanghati covering both shoulders with a broad belt and a central fold between the legs; with traces of gilding and lacquer on the surface.

Price: £5,000=GBP This delightful figure was created during the period of Thailand’s Ayutthaya Kingdom. The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring kingdoms of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. Colossal stone and stucco images of Buddha characterise the artistic creations of the early Ayutthaya period.

The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg has a Buddha in similar style – see no. 48 in State Hermitage Museum, Siamese Art of the 14th-19th centuries in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, 1997.

PROVENANCE: Private Belgian collection.

6.

6] G630 STANDING BRONZE BUDDHA THAILAND, AYUTTHAYA PERIOD 18TH CENTURY H. 53 CMS, 21 INS. A serene, elegant bronze figure of Buddha standing with his feet slightly apart, the right hand raised in abhayamudra (the gesture of dispelling fear) and the left pendant by his side, the face placid and smiling beneath a conical chignon rising to a tall flame finial; the sanghati covering both shoulders with a broad belt and a central fold between the legs; with traces of gilding and lacquer on the surface.

Price: £7,000=GBP This delightful figure was created during the period of Thailand’s Ayutthaya Kingdom. The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring kingdoms of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. Colossal stone and stucco images of Buddha characterise the artistic creations of the early Ayutthaya period.

The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg has a Buddha in similar style – see no. 48 in State Hermitage Museum, Siamese Art of the 14th-19th centuries in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, 1997.

Note: Old repair to left foot.

PROVENANCE: Private German collection. Acquired by the owner’s father in the 1970s.

Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg example

7.

7] G643 STANDING BRONZE BUDDHA THAILAND AYUTTHAYA PERIOD 18TH CENTURY H. 48 CMS, 19 INS. A tranquil bronze figure of Buddha standing with his feet slightly apart, the right hand raised in abhayamudra (the gesture of dispelling fear) and the left pendant by his side, the face serene and smiling beneath a conical chignon rising to a flame finial; the sanghati covering both shoulders with a broad belt and a central fold between the legs; with traces of gilding on the surface.

Price: £6,500=GBP This delightful figure was created during the period of Thailand’s Ayutthaya Kingdom. The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring kingdoms of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. Colossal stone and stucco images of Buddha characterise the artistic creations of the early Ayutthaya period.

The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg has a Buddha in similar style – see no. 48 in State Hermitage Museum, Siamese Art of the 14th-19th centuries in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, 1997.

PROVENANCE: Private French collection.

8.

8] G631.1 LARGE BRONZE BUDDHA BURMA, TAI YAI (SHAN STATES) 18TH CENTURY H. 45 CMS, 17 ½ INS A large and imposing bronze Buddha seated in bhumisparsimudra (earth-touching mudra) on a tiered pedestal, his face with a tranquil expression, with long earlobes and a conical usnisha rising to a lotus bud finial.

Price: £5,500=GBP Burmese Buddha images of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were made of bronze, wood, alabaster, dry lacquer and papier-mâché and are found in one of three positions: seated cross legged in bhumisparsimudra, standing with hands raised or by his side, and lying on his right side in the parinirvana position.

For a group of related bronze examples, see cat. no. P.286, p. 353 in S. Lopetcharat, Myanmar Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Books Co. Ltd, 2007. For more on bronze and other metal Buddhas from this period, see Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Buddha Images from Burma, Part II: Bronze and Related Metals, Arts of Asia, March-April 1981 or see the following link: https://www.lasieexotique.com/page/LasieExotique-mag_buddha_II.html

PROVENANCE: Private North German collection.

Acquired from Günter Venzke Asian Art, Berlin in the late 1970s.

9.

9] G635.3 A PAIR OF BRONZE KNEELING MONKS BURMA MANDALAY PERIOD 19TH CENTURY H. 46 CMS, 18 INS An enchanting and finely cast pair of bronze monks, kneeling on lotus pedestals atop long curved finials for attachment to a Buddha image, with their hands clasped in anjalimudra, each with extensive gilding, a glossy brown patina and hair highlighted in black lacquer.

Price: ÂŁ3,500 the pair These captivating, beautifully sculpted figures would have flanked a large central Buddha image in a temple.

For a fine example of a complete monks and Buddha ensemble, see P.288A-P.288E, pp 356-7 in S. Lopetcharat, Myanmar Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Books Co. Ltd, 2007.

PROVENANCE: Private French collection. Acquired in Malaysia during the early 1980s.

10.

10] G633 WHITE MARBLE JAIN TIRTHANKARA WESTERN INDIA, RAJASTHAN 19TH CENTURY H. 43.5 CMS, 17 INS A serene white marble figure of Chandraprabha, the eighth Tirthankara, seated in a naked state in dhyanamudra (the gesture of meditation), wearing a hemispherical cap, with a shrivatsa on his chest, his (missing) cognisance (lanchanna) the Crescent Moon (chandra).

Price: ÂŁ4,000=GBP For an almost identical example in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see cat. no. 67 in Balraj Khanna and George Michell, Human and Divine: 2000 Years of Indian Sculpture. London: Hayward Gallery, 2000 or see the following link: http://m.vam.ac.uk/item/O63733/sculpture-unknown/ Provenance: Private collection, UK.

Bibliography

General Southeast Asian: M. Girard-Geslan et al, Art of Southeast Asia, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1998.

Forrest McGill (ed.), Emerald Cities: Arts of Siam and Burma, 1775-1950, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, 2009.

Cambodia M. Giteau, Khmer Sculpture and the Angkor Civilisation , London: Thames and Hudson, 1965.

Khun Samen, Post-Angkorian Buddha, Exhibition catalogue, National Museum, Phnom Penh, 2000.

Thailand: H.W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand: The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.

F. McGill et al, The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2005.

Rita Ringis (ed.), Treasures from the National Museum, Bangkok, Bangkok: National Museum Volunteers Group, 1995.

State Hermitage Museum, Siamese Art of the 14th-19th centuries in the Hermitage, St Petersburg, 1997.

S. Van Beek and L. Tettoni, The Arts Of Thailand, Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, 2000.

Dorothy H. Fickle, Images of the Buddha in Thailand, Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989.

Burma: R. Isaacs and T.R. Blurton, Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer, London: British Museum Press, 2000.

Donald Stadtner (ed.), The Art of Burma: New Studies, Mumbai: Marg Publications, 1999.

S. Fraser-Lu, Burmese Crafts Past and Present, New York: O.U.P., 1994.

Otto Karow, Burmese Buddhist Sculpture: The Johan Mรถger Collection, Bangkok: White Lotus Press, 2003.

S. Lopetcharat, Myanmar Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Books Co., 2007.

J. Lowry, Burmese Art, London: Victoria & Albert Museum, 1974.

Indonesia: Helen Ibbitson Jessup, Court Arts of Indonesia, Asia Society exhibition catalogue, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc., 1990.

Urs Ramseyer, The Art and Culture of Bali, Basel: Museum der Kulturen, 2002.

India: Balraj Khanna and George Michell, Human and Divine: 2000 Years of Indian Sculpture. London: Hayward Gallery, 2000

Jonathan Tucker Antonia Tozer ASIAN ART 37 Bury Street St James's London SW1Y 6AU Tel: 020 7839 3414 jonathantucker1@aol.com antoniatozer@aol.com www.asianartresource.com

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