 SANDSTONE BUDDHA STELE Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 7.SANDSTONE BUDDHA STELE.BURMA.PYU KINGDOM.8TH – 9TH CENTURY.H. 34 CMS, 13 ½ INS.W. (BOTTOM OF BASE) 18 CMS, 7 INS.A subtle, understated pale buff sandstone stele, carved in high-relief with a depiction of the Buddha (possibly the healing Buddha Bhaisajyaguru), seated in virasana on a double-lotus pedestal and holding a bowl in his lap, the right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’), the face with an intense spiritual gaze with a circular nimbus behind the head, the reverse slightly convex and covered in a dark, blackish brown patina.According to the renowned Burma scholar G.H. Luce only a dozen or so of these high-relief stone Buddha stelae are recorded. They may have adorned the niches of minor temples surrounding one or other of the great stupas at the Pyu capital of Srikshetra, near the modern city of Prome on the banks of the Irrawaddy, 300 km northwest of Rangoon. It is also possible that were commissioned to grace the domestic shrines of the well-to-do. This sculpture is among three such stelae photographed by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab of Thailand (1862-1943), a son of King Rama IV, during a visit to Srikshetra in 1936.The three Buddhas are illustrated in Prince Damrong’s account of the visit, published posthumously in Thai in 1946 and in English in 1991 – see page 197 in H.R.H. Prince Damrong Rajanubhab, Journey through Burma in 1936, Bangkok: River Books, 1991. Of these three Buddhas, the left hand figure is now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, the right hand example is in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts and the centre one is offered here. The account notes that the prince was permitted to select various artefacts for his own collection and it may well be that these three sculptures were acquired at the time of his visit.PROVENANCE: Private English collection.
|  REDDISH BROWN SANDSTONE BUDDHAPADA RELIEF Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 21.REDDISH BROWN SANDSTONE BUDDHAPADA RELIEF. SOUTHERN INDIA.ANDHRA PRADESH.AMARAVATI SCHOOL.CIRCA 1ST CENTURY BC - 1ST CENTURY AD.H. 69 CMS, 27 INS.A reddish brown sandstone relief with a depiction of the Buddhapada (the Buddha’s footprints), decorated with a pair of wheels (chakras), swastikas and lotuses supporting triratna (‘three jewels’) motifs.Amaravati, near Guntur in Andhra Pradesh, was once the eastern capital of the Satavahanas, who ruled from the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd century A.D. The great stupa at Amaravati was erected by Ashoka to house relics of the Buddha and is the most important in southern India. Most of its sculptures, unlike this example, are of marble. Along with the Bodhi tree, the stupa, the empty throne, the flaming pillar and the wheel, the footprints of Buddha Sakyamuni were an important symbol in early Buddhist art. Before images of the Buddha began to appear in human form during the 2nd century AD the Buddha was generally represented by these symbols. The footprints not only symbolize the presence of the Buddha they also carry a cosmic significance- the infant Buddha takes seven steps immediately after his birth to symbolize his spiritual domination of the universe. For two examples of Amaravati reliefs showing worship of the Buddha’s footprints see plate 61 in D. Klimburg-Salter, Buddha in Indien: Die frühindische Skulptur von König Asoka bis zur Guptazeit, Exhibition Catalogue, Milan and Vienna: Skira editore and Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1995 and plate 120 in M. Taddei, India, Geneva: Nagel Publishers, 1970. For an explanation of the symbols on Buddhapada reliefs see no. 67 in P. Pal et al. Light of Asia: Buddha Sakyamuni in Asian Art. Los Angeles: L.A. County Museum of Art, 1984.
|  Red sandstone devata
A red sandstone figure of a female deity, delicately sculpted and standing in tribhanga upon a lotus flower.W. India, Rajasthan, 10th/11th century.Height: 64 cm, 25 inches.
|  Radiating Avalokitesvara Current and Past Exhibitions
Radiating Avalokitesvara KhmerAngkor period, Bayon style, Late 12th/ Early 13th centuryH. 110 cm, 43 ½ ins.A monumental sandstone figure of an eight-armed radiating Avalokitesvara, muscular and powerful, the hair, upper torso and arms covered in minute representations of the Buddha and with seated figures of Prajnaparamita (the Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom) on the chest, stomach and lower back; the face beatific beneath a raised chignon bearing a seated figure of Amitabha, wearing a short pleated sampot with a broad fishtail at the front.These images are believed to represent the Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII. There are celebrated examples of this type in both the Bangkok National Museum and the Musée Guimet, with only one other large version appearing in the art market in recent years [see M. Lerner, Ancient Khmer Sculpture, Chinese Porcelain Company exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994]. According to Lerner (ibid.), there are fewer than a dozen known examples of this type.
|  QINGBAI COSMETIC BOX AND COVER Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 15.QINGBAI COSMETIC BOX AND COVER.CHINA.SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY.1127 – 1279 AD .D. 8 CMS, 3 1/8 INS. A porcelain box and cover of circular form, the slightly domed cover mould stamped and sculpted with a spray of flowers within a foliate rim, a pale blue (Qingbai) glaze covering the lid and sides of the base, leaving the rims and base unglazed to show the white clay body. Women of the Song dynasty favoured small boxes to contain different cosmetic materials. For a similar box decorated with flowers see fig. 290, page 161, He Li, Chinese Ceramics: The New Standard Guide, Thames and Hudson, 1996. There are comparable examples of cosmetic boxes in the British Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, the Ashmolean Museum and the Barlow Collection, University of East Sussex; all illustrated as plates 100, 103, 104 and 105 in Stacey Pierson, Qingbai Ware: Chinese Porcelain of the Song and Yuan dynasties, Percival David Foundation of Art, 2002. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  PORCELAIN FAMILLE VERTE SAUCER DISH Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 22.PORCELAIN FAMILLE VERTE SAUCER DISH.CHINA.KANGXI PERIOD.1662-1722.D. 34.5 CMS, 13 ½ INS.A fine porcelain saucer dish brightly decorated in famille verte enamels, showing a court scene depicting the Emperor and his officials seated at a table enjoying an acrobatic display, all supported on a short tapering double foot-ring. For a famille verte dish of similar size but with a different story depicted see plate 173, page 159, Christian J. A. Jorg, Chinese Ceramics in the collection of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1997. Compare also to a much larger famille verte dish decorated with the Tang Emperor Xuanzong, illustrated as plate 35, page 58, Recent Acquistions, Marchant and Son, 2002.PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Formerly in the collection of Dr Fleischer, Berlin, purchased in 1990 (by repute).
|  POLISHED BLACKSTONE FIGURE OF VAJRA TARA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 28.POLISHED BLACKSTONE FIGURE OF VAJRA TARA.NORTHEAST INDIA.PROBABLY BIHAR.PALA PERIOD.11TH - 12TH CENTURY.H. 78 CMS, 21 INS.A polished blackstone (phyllite) figure of a four-armed female deity, probably Vajra Tara, seated on a lotus pedestal adorned with a vajra and with acolytes, dancers and musicians; wearing an elaborate headdress and extensive jewellery and holding a bow and a lotus stem, flanked by two female attendants seated on lotuses and holding what appear to be vajras, the apex with five Buddhas seated in different mudras and accompanied by a further pair of seated females holding a garland and a chowri (fly-whisk).The Pala Empire controlled the northern and eastern areas of the Indian subcontinent, mainly the Bengal and Bihar regions, from the 8th to the 12th century. The name Pala means "protector" and was used as an ending to the names of all Pala monarchs. For a related, eight-armed figure of Vajra Tara in the Art Museum of San Francisco, see cat. no. 38 in Susan and John Huntington, Leaves from the Bodhi Tree: The Art of Pala India and Its International Legacy, Dayton Art Institute, 1990.PROVENANCE: Private German collection. Acquired in the early 1980s.
|  PAIR OF WOODEN FIGURES OF SAINTS Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 17.PAIR OF WOODEN FIGURES OF SAINTS.PHILIPPINES.HISPANO-FILIPINO.CIRCA 18TH CENTURY.H. (LEFT FIGURE) 44 CMS, 17 3/8 INS. (RIGHT FIGURE) 35 CMS, 13 ¾ INS.An extremely rare pair of painted and carved wooden figures of saints (santos), the left depicting a bearded San Roque (St. Rock) wearing a long coat, cloak and hat, his left hand pulling up his robe to reveal a bleeding wound on his thigh; the right hand figure of an unidentified saint wearing a long coat, hat and boots.Santos, carved ivory or wood images of saints, were introduced into the Philippine archipelago during the 16th century by the Spanish soldiers and priests of the conquista. Figures of Christ, the Virgin Mary and a long litany of saints were made by local (including Chinese) craftsmen to grace church altars and domestic shrines. San Roque, St. Rock or Roch (d.1327) was a French pilgrim to Rome who, when plague erupted, healed the sick by miraculous means. He was stricken with an open sore on his left thigh and was sustained by a dog, who brought him bread each day, and by an angel. He is often depicted bearded, sometimes with a hat, wearing a knee-length tunic with a cape over his shoulders, boots and a staff. He is identified (as with this example) by the wound on his left thigh, to which he points - see page 101 in Regalado Trota José, Images of Faith: Religious Ivory Carvings from the Philippines, Pasadena: Pacific Asia Museum, 1990.PROVENANCE:Private English collection.
|  Pair of stucco heads Current and Past Exhibitions
Pair of stucco heads.China, probably from Shanxi province.Ming dynasty, 1368-1644 AD. H. 8 ins, 20cm.A striking pair of female stucco heads, their faces calm with eyes peering brightly from beneath arched brows; the hair painted blue and modelled into coils, with gilt headdresses elaborately rendered with curling tendrils and brightly painted shapes representing jewels.The mountainous, rugged terrain and dry climate of Shanxi province, with its numerous monasteries and temples, helped to preserve many such sculptures from damage by war and nature.
|  Pair of lacquer panels Current and Past Exhibitions, Current and Past Exhibitions
Pair of lacquer panels.Chinese.Kangxi period, 1662-1722.H. 26 ½ ins, 67.5 cm. W. 14 ins, 35.5 cm. A pair of black lacquered wooden panels, each brightly painted in polychrome and gilt enamels with a garden landscape of people seated in pavilions among lakes, bridges and mountains; each framed in its original gilded lacquer frame with brass fittings.Provenance: Collection of Derek Clifford.
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