 Large sandstone head of a Jain Tirthankara (Jina)
G331. Western India.Probably from Rajasthan.11th – 12th century.H. 9 ½ ins, 24 cms. A life-sized, dark brown patinated sandstone head of a Jain Tirthankara (Jina), sensitively modelled with a benign, tranquil expression beneath bow-shaped brows; the eyes wide open with an intense spiritual gaze, the hair arranged in snail shell curls rising to a lotus usnisha.The principal Jain pantheon consists of twenty-four Tirthankaras (or saviours), the first being Rishabhanatha and the last Mahavira. A Tirthankara, or Jina has successfully passed through all the cycles of rebirth to create a passage for believers. Mahavira (c. 599-527 BC) was a historical figure and a near contemporary of the Buddha.For a complete seated figure of a Jina from Veravan, Rajasthan with a similar head, see no. 29, p. 40 in K. Desai, Jewels on the Crescent: Masterpieces of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai), Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2002. For a related seated marble figure from Mt Abu, Rajasthan see no. 51 in Joseph Dye, The Arts of India: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001.Note: The nose of this sculpture is restored.
|  Kashmir robe fragment Current and Past Exhibitions
Kashmir robe fragment.India, Kashmir.circa 1840.H. 24 ins, 61 cm.W. 16 ¾ ins, 42.5 cm.An exquisite woollen textile fragment, originally the back section of a prince’s robe, the ivory ground embroidered in exceptional detail in polychrome threads, the central section depicting two figures seated together beneath a canopy, cooled by a servant with a fan to the right and a pair of Hanuman figures approaching to the left; another enthroned figure beneath, all set within a border of kneeling figures, some winged, to either side a seated Ganesha supported by a large rat; an undulating serpent headed ribbon linking niches with figures, finally a lobed palmette embroidered in similar extravagant detail with a pair of figures, one winged, the design culminating in a hanging boteh with upturned ends surrounded with birds. To each side and to the top the sleeve border edging remains.
|  Kashmir robe fragment Current and Past Exhibitions
Kashmir robe fragment.India, Kashmir.circa 1840.H. 16 ins, 40.7 cm.W. 9 7/8 ins, 25.3 cm.Four exquisitely embroidered border sections from a prince’s robe, each depicting various figures; two smoking a hookah, one man on a horse, another with a gun, a lady carrying a peacock surrounded by other animals, several seated in armchairs and others bearing gifts, the costumes and fine detail beautifully executed in colourful threads on an ivory woollen ground. Other panels available.
|  JADE PENDANT (HUANG) Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 10.JADE PENDANT (HUANG). CHINA.EASTERN ZHOU PERIOD.770 – 256 BC.L. 15 CMS, 6 INS.W. 3.4 CMS, 1 3/8 INS. A fine arc-shaped jade pendant (huang), with rectangular cut-outs in the border forming four steps to each end of the upper curved edge, and three to each end of the lower, the straight edges each having two notches, the surface of each side decorated in relief with dissolved and highly stylized figures of dragon-like animals (also known as panhui, or ‘curling snakes’) depicted in profile, a single hole drilled in the centre at the top and one slightly larger hole at either end; the jade a semi-translucent pale olive-green tone. This carved pendant was used in a funerary context. It would have adorned the body of the deceased and was believed to inhibit decomposition. Compare to two similar huang - see no. 17:6, page 267 in J. Rawson, Chinese Jade from the Neolithic to the Qing, British Museum Press, 1995 and fig. 107 in J. Ayers and J. Rawson, Chinese Jade throughout the Ages, Oriental Ceramic Society, 1975. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
17 HEAD OF BUDDHA.NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN.PROBABLY FROM THE KUNDUZ AREA.KUSHAN, 1ST- 2ND CENTURY AD.H. 36 CMS, 14 INS. A highly important and possibly unique white limestone head of the Buddha, the hair emanating in waves from a centre-point above a raised urna, the eyes half open and the mouth set with a gentle smile; with the remains of both shoulders and a mandorla still present.The style of this large, impressive sculpture marks a transition between the classical art of sites such as Ai Khanum and the more syncretic flavour of later art from Gandhara, typified by the artists of Hadda. Almost nothing of a similar style has survived the ravages of time and the attentions of iconoclasts. A rare exception is the celebrated limestone relief of the Buddha and disciples beneath the bodhi tree, found at Fayaz-tepe, near Termez, Southern Uzbekistan: see plate 175 in Shiruku Rodo dai bunmeiten. Shiruku rodo, oashisu to sogen no michi, (The Grand Exhibition of Silk Road civilizations). 3 vols, exhibition catalogue, Nara National Museum. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 1988 and fig. 265 in Jonathan Tucker, The Silk Road: Art and History, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2003.Provenance: Private English collection.Previously sold in our 2002 exhibition ‘Glimmerings from the East’, catalogue no. 2.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
14 HEAD OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.17TH – 18TH CENTURY.H. 39.5 CMS, 15 ½ INS. A large and unusual gilded and lacquered stucco head of Buddha, the eyes inlaid with mother of pearl and gazing downwards in meditation, the mouth set with a gentle smile and the hair rising to a domed usnisha and composed of snail-shell curls.For a brief history of Ayutthaya please see catalogue no. 16.For a comparable head in bronze please see fig. 236 (cat. no. 99) in Hiram W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand. The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 10.HEAD OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.EARLY AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.14TH – 15TH CENTURY.H. 42 CMS, 16 ½ INS. A large and beautifully sculpted, pale buff sandstone head of Buddha, the eyes cast downwards in meditation and the face beatific beneath a raised chignon; the neck with three lines denoting greatness, mounted on an old marble base.This head, from an old French collection, was crafted 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. For a comparable head see cat. no. 68 in H.W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand: The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.
|  Greyish brown sandstone head of the Buddha Muchalinda Current and Past Exhibitions
11. Greyish brown sandstone head of the Buddha Muchalinda. Khmer, Angkor Period, Bayon style.Late 12th — early 13th century.H. 35 cms, 13 ¾ ins. Provenance: Private Swiss Collection, acquired between1945-1975.Reference: See catalogue no. 94 in Angkor et dix siècles d’art Khmer, Exhibition catalogue, Paris: Reunion des Musées Nationaux, 1997.
|  GREY SCHIST TORSO OF AN ATHLETE Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 29.GREY SCHIST TORSO OF AN ATHLETE.GANDHARA.2ND – 3RD CENTURY.H. 46 CMS, 18 INS.A remarkable grey schist torso of an athletic male, with broad shoulders and pronounced musculature, standing with his right hand on his hip, wearing a short skirt secured by a belt with a central pendant and patterned boots with rolled tops..The posture and athletic physique of this dynamic, imposing figure are similar to those of the mariners depicted on the celebrated stair riser relief in the British Museum – see colour plate XII, cat. no. 301 in W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, London: British Museum Press, 1996. The third figure from the left of the British Museum relief also has his right hand resting on his hip and the mariners wear similar boots. PROVENANCE: Private Japanese Collection. Acquired in the 1980s.
|  Grey sandstone torso of an apsara Current and Past Exhibitions
10. Grey sandstone torso of an apsara (a devata or celestial dancer).Khmer, Angkor period, Angkor Wat style.12th century.H. 31 cms, 12 ¼ ins. Provenance: Private Swiss Collection, acquired between1945-1975.Reference: See cat. 121 in M. Giteau, Khmer Sculpture and the Angkor Civilisation, London: Thames and Hudson, 1965.
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