 Bronze comb decorated with mythical beasts Current and Past Exhibitions
17. Bronze comb decorated with mythical beasts. China, Eastern Zhou, 770-221 BC.H. 8.7 cms, 3 3/8 ins.Provenance: Private English Collection.Reference: See cat. No. 14, p. 93, in J. M. White and E. C. Bunker, Adornment for Eternity: Status and Rank in Chinese Ornament, Denver Art Museum, 1994.
|  BRONZE BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
27 BRONZE BUDDHA.THAILAND.MON-DVARAVATI STYLE.8TH - 9TH CENTURY .H. 33 CMS, 13 INS.A large and important bronze figure of a standing Buddha, both hands forming vitarka (teaching)-mudra, the robe covering both shoulders and falling from the wrist to follow the contours of the body down to a typical U-shaped hem, the undergarments visible beneath, with long earlobes, a narrow face, downcast eyes and lips forming a slight smile, the hair arranged in tight curls rising to a conical usnisha. The Mon-Dvaravati kingdom, which flourished from the sixth through tenth centuries AD, was established when the Mons of Burma migrated south into Siam. They became ensconced in the river basins of Central Thailand – their main centres at Nakhon Pathom, Lopburi, U-Thong and Kubua - and ruled the area for four centuries. Mon-Dvaravati art finds its origins in the Gupta art of India; characterised by curled hair, full lips and a small waist. The Mon adaptation of the Gupta style incorporates both Hindu and (Theravada) Buddhist iconography. The great 110cm bronze Buddha in the National Museum, Bangkok, is similar to this example - see no. 15 in R. Ringis (ed.), Treasures from the National Museum, Bangkok, Bangkok: National Museum Volunteers Group, 1987. For another example see fig. 59 (cat. no. 9) in Hiram W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand. The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.Provenance: Private English Collection.Purchased from Spink and Son Ltd in July 1995.
|  BLUE GLAZED POTTERY JAR AND COVER Current and Past Exhibitions
6 BLUE GLAZED POTTERY JAR AND COVER.CHINA, HENAN AREA.TANG DYNASTY, 618 - 907 AD.H. 15.5 CMS, 6 1/8 INS. A blue-glazed pottery jar and cover of well-rounded ovoid form with a flared neck and a flat foot, the shaped cover with pointed knop, the earthenware body covered in a deep cobalt-blue glaze pooling around the base, the inside rim glazed blue, the interior thinly applied with a cream coloured glaze.The intense blue of this vessel derives from cobalt, imported from Persia and introduced to China in the 8th century. These glazes were sometimes applied over a white slip to enhance the purity and brilliance of the colours.For an identical vase with a similarly rich cobalt glaze in the Collection of the Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, see plate 133, page 182 in The Silk Road and The World of Xuanzong, Exhibition catalogue, Nara Prefectural Museum of Art, June 12 - August 8, 1999. Another vase decorated with a green glaze is illustrated as plate 226, page 138 in R. Krahl, Chinese Ceramics from the Meiyintang Collection, Volume One, Azimuth Editions, 1994. Age verified by Oxford thermoluminescence test, certificate no. C199t80.Provenance: From the collection of a titled English lady. Purchased from Spink and Son Ltd - illustrated as catalogue no. 38 in Treasures from the Silk Road: Devotion, Conquest and Trade along Asia’s highways, Spink, 1999.
|  BLUE AND WHITE KRAAK PORCELAIN CHARGER Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 23.BLUE AND WHITE KRAAK PORCELAIN CHARGER.CHINA.WANLI PERIOD.1573-1619.D. 50 CMS, 20 INS.A magnificent Kraak porcelain charger, with slightly scalloped flat rim, the rounded, shallow cavetto painted in underglaze blue, the centre depicting a beautiful basket of flowers, the surrounding border divided into characteristic narrow panels with Buddhist emblems and wider panels alternating with phoenixes, sunflowers and auspicious symbols, the underside with fan-shaped cartouches between bands, the base recessed.Kraak porcelain was named after Portuguese merchant ships (carracks), intercepted and captured at sea by the Dutch during the early to mid 17th century. This type of porcelain was produced mainly in Fujian and Jiangxi provinces or in the coastal areas of China, and carracks transported it to Europe. Dishes of this type were referred to in VOC records as ‘lampetschotels’ (basins). For a dish of similar size see plate 40, page 59, Christiaan J. A. Jorg, Chinese Ceramics in the Collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1997.PROVENANCE: Private English collection.
|  Blackstone figure of Vishnu atop Garuda Current and Past Exhibitions
15. Blackstone figure of Vishnu atop Garuda.Nepal, Kathmandu Valley, circa 16th century. H. (excl. tang) 49 cms, 19 1/2 ins.Reference: no. 97 in S. & J. Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India and Its International Legacy, Dayton Art Institute, 1990.
|  ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL WITH SWING HANDLE (YOU) Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 20.ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL WINE VESSEL WITH SWING HANDLE (YOU).CHINA.EASTERN ZHOU PERIOD.770 - 221 BC.H. 17.5 CMS, 6 7/8 INS. A fine archaic bronze ritual wine vessel and cover (you), the vessel of oval bodied form rising from a flared foot, the shoulder simply cast with a deep band of angular leiwen bordered by thread relief circles and set with two loops securing a single ropetwist handle set across the long axis, the domed cover decorated with similar patterning and surmounted by a rounded knop, the bronze bearing a greyish-green patina with some areas of brighter encrustation. For an earlier, Western Zhou example please see page 54, plate 21 in Julia White and Ronald Otsuka, Pathways to the Afterlife: Early Chinese Art from the Sze Hong Collection, Denver Art Museum, 1993. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL AND COVER (DING) Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 16.ARCHAIC BRONZE RITUAL FOOD VESSEL AND COVER (DING). CHINA.WARRING STATES PERIOD.475 - 221 BC.H. 20 CMS, 8 INS. W. (ACROSS HANDLES). 24.2 CMS, 9 ½ INS. A fine archaic bronze ritual food vessel and cover (ding), the globular body standing on three cabriole legs and set with two upright arch handles with rope-twist borders; the gently domed cover set with three loop finials, the body divided by a horizontal ridge separating two finely cast bands of dragon scrolls in flat relief, the cover with three further bands of dragon scrolls, the bronze bearing a greyish-green patina with some areas of brighter encrustation. Note: The three loop finials on the cover are for use as feet when the vessel is upturned as a dish. For a similar example see no 61A in William Watson, Ancient Chinese Bronzes, Faber and Faber, 1977. For another vessel in the Stuttgart Museum, see fig. 11 in J. Kalter et al, Ferne Völker Frühe Zeiten: Kunstwerke aus dem Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, 1982. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  A wooden screen painted with an image of the Buddha.
A wooden screen painted with an image of the Buddha.Dimensions (panel only: 67 cm by 52 cm (26 ins by 20 1/2 in).Thai, Bangkok Style,Ratanakosin period, 19th century.Please note: The mount is modern.
|  A terracotta votive plaque
A terracotta votive plaque with multiple depictions of seated Buddhas.Height: 10 ½ ins, 26.5 cm.Burma, Pagan period, circa 12th century.
|  A rock crystal lingham.
A rock crystal lingham of tapering form.Height: 2.8 cm, 1 1/8 ins.Khmer, 9th-13th century.
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