 Pair of Guardian Figures Current and Past Exhibitions
Pair of Guardian Figures.China, probably from Ningxia province.Western Xia (Xixia), Tangut Kingdom, circa 12th century.H. 13 ½ ins, 34cmAn exceptionally rare pair of red sandstone tomb guardians, each with bulging eyes and a humorous expression, crouching with lotuses balanced upon their heads. From the time of their establishment as an independent state in 982, until their subjugation by the Mongols around 1227, the Xixia (Western Xia or Tanguts) flourished as a commercial power. Their revenues were derived from taxes, levied upon merchants travelling along the section of the Silk Road within the great curve of the Yellow River- a large part of modern Gansu province. The Xixia were devout Buddhists, their artistic creations heavily influenced by Tibet. Examples of Tangut tomb guardians are scarce but a pair of similar figures- one male and one female- are illustrated in Shi Jinbo, Xi Xia Wen Wu, 1988 [ISBN no. 7-5010-0049-2].
|  PAIR OF CROUCHING MYTHICAL BEASTS Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 17.PAIR OF CROUCHING MYTHICAL BEASTS. CHINA.WARRING STATES PERIOD.475 – 221 BC. L. 10 CMS, 4 INS. A pair of striking bronze mythical beasts, each animal cast in a crouched position with legs tucked underneath and tail curled around its haunches as if the animal is waiting to pounce, its head held low with nose upturned, teeth bared and ears flat, a central horn curling between the ears; their bodies exquisitely inlaid with decorative silver spirals. These bronze mythical beasts were probably used as weights. Compare to a bronze ox dating to the Warring States period, unearthed in 1956 in Shou County, Anhui province and illustrated as cat. no. 4-1-10, page 63, National Museum of Chinese History, Exhibition of Chinese History, Beijing: Morning Glory Publishers, 1998. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  PAIR OF BRONZE RECUMBENT OXEN Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 21.PAIR OF BRONZE RECUMBENT OXEN. CHINA.WARRING STATES PERIOD.475 – 221 BC.L. 8.5 CMS, 3 3/8 INS. . A fine pair of recumbent bronze oxen, each animal solidly cast with folded legs, their horned heads turned to one side and tails swished over their backs; their bodies exquisitely inlaid with decorative spirals of gold and silver. These bronze oxen were probably used as weights. Compare to an exquisite pair of bronze leopards with garnet eyes, unearthed in the tomb of Princess Dou Wan (2nd century BC) and illustrated on page 107, C. Blunden and M. Elvin, Cultural Atlas of China, Phaidon, 1983. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  PAINTED SANDSTONE GARUDA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 51.PAINTED SANDSTONE GARUDA.INDIA, GUJURAT.16TH – 17TH CENTURY.H. (EXCLUDING BASE) 49.5 CMS, 19 ½ INS. A painted sandstone figure of Garuda, kneeling on top of a naga (snake deity) to await Vishnu’s bidding, his hands raised in the respectful gesture of namaskaramudra; the wooden base apparently cut from an old pillar.This image of Garuda may originally have been placed, along with other images, on the wall surrounding a shrine or temple dedicated to Vishnu. Over the centuries the half man, half bird vehicle of Vishnu has presented artists with both a problem and a source of inspiration. They have endeavoured to create a figure that combines the qualities of both, yet retains the ability to fly as he bears Vishnu on his back and wrestles with his profound enemy, the snake deities known as nagas. Here, the artist appears to have been influenced by European images of angels, brought to western India by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The figure is human in almost every respect with the simple addition of elegantly curved wings.
|  Painted plaster Caste Figures
CASTE FIGURES.INDIA, 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY.H. 11 CMS, 4 ¼ INS..A delightful collection of thirty-six plaster figures of officials, religious figures, tradesmen, servants and mendicants, each individually modelled and painted by hand.These expertly modelled and painted figures provide a snapshot of different levels of Indian society during the late nineteenth century. Such figures are fragile and do not normally survive in such numbers or in such an excellent condition. They were usually made of plaster and some were later embellished with cloth garments and with hair. They were mostly produced by local craftsmen in Krishnanagar near Calcutta, Lucknow and Poona as souvenirs for European visitors to the country. Their secondary purpose appears to have been to help westerners make sense of the bewildering complexity of Indian society. For a related group in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, see cat. no. 365 in Bayly, C.A. (general editor), The Raj: India and the British 1600-1947. London: National Portrait Gallery, 1990. Provenance: English private collection.
|  OFFERING VESSEL (HSUN OK) Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 40.OFFERING VESSEL (HSUN OK).BURMA, PAGAN AREA.19TH CENTURY.H. 65 CMS, 25 ½ INS.A fine, gilded and lacquered Hsun Ok (offering vessel) with fitted upper and lower sections surmounted by a tiered finial; decorated with intricate bands of multi-coloured inlaid glass.Hsun Ok are placed on either side of a statue in a Buddhist temple, allowing devotees to place their offerings inside, thus accruing personal merit through their donation which in turn benefits the monastic establishment. Lacquered and gilded Hsun Ok, decorated in distinctive regional styles are found throughout Burma, but this general form, with a lid finial resembling a Buddhist stupa, is found throughout the country. This example is decorated with thayo, a mixture of lacquer and ash, which is rolled into a putty that can be used to create raised thread patterns. Following gilding, it was given an additional ornament of coloured glass spangles, arranged to resemble jewels, in typically Burmese taste and often seen trimming the robes of Buddha images. For similar examples see nos. 1 and 91 in R. Isaacs and T.R. Blurton, Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer, London: British Museum, 2000.
|  MONUMENTAL BRONZE BUST OF BUDDHA
MONUMENTAL BRONZE BUST OF BUDDHA.BURMA, MANDALAY PERIOD, 19TH CENTURY.H. 46 CMS, 18 INS.A magnificent, superbly modelled bronze bust of the Buddha, the face meditative and serene, the bronze with a high silver content and inlaid with multi-coloured glass; with extensive traces of red lacquer and gilding on the surface.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. The British Museum has a related standing Buddha in wood - see catalogue no. 77 in R. Isaacs and T.R. Blurton, Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer, London: British Museum Press, 2000.Provenance: Private German collection.
|  LONGQUAN CELADON BOWL Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 19.LONGQUAN CELADON BOWL.CHINA.SHANXI PROVINCE.SOUTHERN SONG DYNASTY.12TH - 13TH CENTURY.H. 7 CMS, 2 ¾ INS.D. 18.4 CMS, 7 3/16 INS.A longquan celadon bowl, the exterior moulded with lotus petals at the base beneath a floral band at the rim, the interior with a single incised peony spray within a central medallion, the soft sea-green glaze suffused with clear crackle and thinning to white at various parts of the moulding.Longquan wares were mostly decorated with a greenish glaze and were made at kilns centred in the Longquan area of southern Zhejiang province, from the Song to the early Qing dynasty.For a similar bowl see fig. 269, He Li, Chinese Ceramics: The New Standard Guide, Thames and Hudson, 1996. There is also a similar example in the National Palace Museum in Taipei. PROVENANCE: Private French collection.Previously sold at Christies Hong Kong, 18th March 1991, Lot 507.
|  LIMESTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 4.LIMESTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA.CHINA.PROBABLY FROM SHANDONG PROVINCE.NORTHERN QI DYNASTY.550 - 557 AD.H. 20 CMS, 8 INS.An exceptional grey limestone head of Buddha carved in the round with a raised usnisha and elongated earlobes, the face serene with eyes cast downwards in meditation, the corners of the lips drawn up into a faint smile, the expression benevolent and tranquil.This superb head is reminiscent of many of the sculptures from the celebrated Qingzhou hoard. The Qingzhou hoard, a large group of Buddhist statues of exceptional quality, was accidentally unearthed in 1996 by workers levelling a school sports field in Qingzhou, a small city in Shandong Province on China's northeast coast. Created during a 50-year period spanning the Northern Wei (386–534), Eastern Wei (534–550) and the Northern Qi (550–577) dynasties, the sculptures illustrate the dramatic stylistic changes that occurred during that time. The unusual quantity of remaining gilding and vibrant red, green and other pigments on their surfaces provide an opportunity for the viewer to experience the impact of brightly decorated sculpture - the norm in ancient China. For a similar example from the Qingzhou horde, please see no. 27C in the exhibition catalogue for Royal Academy of Arts, Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries, 2002. PROVENANCE: Property of a private English collector. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  LARGE SANDSTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catlogue no. 18.LARGE SANDSTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.16TH - 17TH CENTURY. H. 43 CMS, 17 INS. A broad, muscular red sandstone torso of the Buddha, the broad central flap of his robe extending down to the navel; traces of black lacquer remaining. The central bronze Buddha image at Wat Yai Suwannaram, Phetchaburi, is dated to the 17th century and has similarly broad, powerful characteristics; the intention being to awe and overwhelm the viewer – see page 155 in S. Van Beek and L. Tettoni, The Arts Of Thailand, Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, 2000.Note: The two circular stone plugs on the upper chest are ancient repairs which would, originally, have been concealed by layers of lacquer and gold leaf. PROVENANCE:Private English collection.
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