 BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 32.BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA.LAOS.19TH CENTURY.H. 83 CMS, 32 ½ INS.An intricately cast bronze figure of the Buddha, seated in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) on an elaborate tiered pedestal, the face smiling and serene beneath a domed usnisha rising to a tall flame finial; traces of gilding and red lacquer remaining. The Lao kingdom of Lan Xang, or Lan Chang was established in 1354 by Prince Fa Ngum (1316-1393), who spent his childhood years at the Khmer capital of Angkor. Under his rule the kingdom became powerful and wealthy and extended to cover the northeast region of present-day Thailand. By the 17th century Lan Xang entered a period of decline marked by dynastic struggles and conflicts with its neighbours, and control was eventually lost to Siam. In 1707 it was divided into two principalities centred on Luang Prabang in the north and Vientiane to the south. Theravada Buddhism is the country’s predominant religion.For a comparable example please see page 250 (bottom right) in S. Lopetcharat, Lao Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Book Company, 2000.
|  BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 5.BRONZE SEATED BUDDHA.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.1500 - 1550.H. (INCLUDING FINIAL) 66 CMS, 26 INS.A magnificent bronze Buddha seated in virasana on an unusual raised ornate pedestal, the right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) and the left resting in his lap; the face meditative and serene beneath a conical usnisha rising to a tall lotus bud finial, with extensive gilding over a layer of black lacquer.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 sovereignties of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. This image is covered with multiple layers of gold leaf, a practice that still continues during worship in Thai temples. For a closely related image with a similar ornate base, see fig. 35 (cat. no. 33) in F. McGill et al, The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2005. The Buddha referred to was discovered in the shoulder of the great Buddha at Phra Mongkhon Bophit, Ayutthaya in the 1950s. The 22 metre high Phra Mongkhon Bophit Buddha, one of the largest bronze images in Thailand, is believed to have been dedicated in 1538 and our example probably dates to the same period. A bronze Ganesha in the Metropolitan Museum has a similarly ornate base – see fig. 159 (cat. no. 40), ibid.PROVENANCE: Private English collection.
|  BRONZE OCTAFOIL MIRROR Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 12.BRONZE OCTAFOIL MIRROR.CHINA.TANG DYNASTY.618 – 907 AD.D. 11.5 CMS, 4 ½ INS. . An octafoil mirror decorated with a pair of Mandarin ducks and a pair of swans surrounding a central knob in the form of a crouching animal, the outer rim raised and border decorated with floral sprays. The silvery colour is due to a high tin content in the bronze. For a comparable mirror, see fig. 68, page 75 in Chou Ju-Hsi, Circles of Reflection: The Carter Collection of Chinese Bronze Mirrors, The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2000. See also fig. 59, A. Soper, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Bronzes, Rome, 1966. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  BRONZE MODEL OF A STUPA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 44.BRONZE MODEL OF A STUPA.BURMA.ARAKAN KINGDOM.16TH – 17TH CENTURY.H. 25 CMS, 9 ¾ INS.An unusual bronze model of a four-sided stupa with an elegant, tapering shape ascending to a lotus-bud finial, a Buddha at each of the cardinal points seated with his right hand lowered in bhumisparsimudra. The Arakanese King Min-Bin and his son Min-hpa-laung (1571-93) introduced a golden age of temple construction at their capital, Mrauk-U, the most notable being the Shittaung pagoda or ‘Shrine of Eight Thousand Images’. Models of stupas and shrines were placed in relic chambers during consecration ceremonies, while others were made as objects for devotion. For a discussion of model stupas from Arakan, including three related examples, see pages 160 and 161 in P. Gutman, Burma’s Lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Arakan, Bangkok: Orchid Press, 2001.
|  Bronze head of the Buddha
2. Bronze head of the Buddha.Burma, Pagan, circa. 12th century.H. 17 cms, 6 ¾ ins.Provenance: Private English collection.Reference: See no. 15 in P. Strachan, Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma,Kiscadale Publications, 1989.
|  BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 2BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.SUKHOTHAI STYLE.POST-CLASSIC PERIOD.KAMPHAENG PHET.15TH CENTURY.H. 49 CMS, 19 INS.A colossal, superbly cast bronze head of the Buddha, his gaze meditative and intense, with deeply arched brows above inlaid eyes, a straight nose, long and slender earlobes and a slightly smiling mouth; with extensive traces of gilding throughout.Kamphaeng Phet was a royal city in the Sukhothai kingdom and was also an important strategic town during the succeeding Ayutthaya kingdom. Thais regard the Sukhothai period as a ‘golden age’ and images like this one represent the pinnacle of Thai artistic achievement. In his paper entitled An Appreciation of Sukhothai Art (Bangkok: Fine Arts Department, 1962), Professor Silpa Bhirasri describes the spiritual power of Sukhothai period sculptures:“Their creations seem to master the tumult of human passions, and the faint smile tells us of happiness and peace gained by subduing the earthly and primordial instincts”.The great Phra Buddha Jinnarat from Wat Phra Si Ratana Mahathat, Phitsanulok, one of the most revered images in Thailand, is a sublime example of the late Sukhothai type – see page 112 in S. Van Beek and L. Tettoni, The Arts Of Thailand, Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, 2000. For a fine example of a Kamphaeng Phet Buddha head in the Bangkok National Museum, see page 115 (ibid.).PROVENANCE: Private French collection.
|  BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHACatalogue no. 34.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.15TH – 16TH CENTURY.H. 36 CMS, 14 INS.A large and beautifully cast bronze head of Buddha with a soft tranquil expression, the eyes cast downwards in meditation beneath long sweeping brows, the earlobes unusually long; with an extensive layer of gilding on the surface. 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 sovereignties of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. Note: The back section of this head (behind the ears) is missing.For a similar head see cat. no. 32 in F. McGill et al, The Kingdom of Siam: The Art of Central Thailand, San Francisco: Asian Art Museum, 2005. See also page 150 in S. Van Beek and L. Tettoni, The Arts Of Thailand, Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, 2000.
|  Bronze figure of a seated Buddha
A brownish-green patinated bronze figure of the Buddha, seated in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of 'calling the earth to witness')upon a raised double pedestal.Height: (including flame finial) 19 ins, 49 cm.Knee-to-Knee: 9 1/2 ins, 25 cm.Thai, U-Thong period, 15th/16th century.
|  BRONZE ELEPHANT BELL
G318.1 BRONZE ELEPHANT BELL.Khmer, Angkor Period, Bayon Style.Late 12th – early 13th Century.Height: 7 ½ ins, 19 cms.A bronze elephant bell, decorated on the top in relief with lotus motifs and with two stylish triangular cusps with decorative borders at the bottom, an open section with a naga finial on each side beneath two prominent ribs carved with concentric rings; a bronze pellet inside each bell serving as a rattle as the elephant walks. Bells of this type are seen on the bas-reliefs of temples at Angkor, hung round the necks of elephant, usually war elephants. For similar examples of elephant bells, please see nos. 129a and b in E.C. Bunker and D. Latchford, Adoration and Glory: the Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago, 2004 and p. 153 in M. Giteau and D. Guéret, Khmer Art, Paris, 1997.
|  BRONZE ELEPHANT BELL
G318.2 BRONZE ELEPHANT BELL.Khmer, Angkor Period, Bayon Style. Late 12th – early 13th Century.Height: 7 ½ ins, 19 cms.A bronze elephant bell, decorated on the top in relief with lotus motifs and with two stylish triangular cusps with decorative borders at the bottom, an open section with a naga finial on each side beneath two prominent ribs carved with concentric rings; a bronze pellet inside each bell serving as a rattle as the elephant walks.Bells of this type are seen on the bas-reliefs of temples at Angkor, hung round the necks of elephant, usually war elephants. For similar examples of elephant bells, please see nos. 129a and b in E.C. Bunker and D. Latchford, Adoration and Glory: the Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago, 2004 and p. 153 in M. Giteau and D. Guéret, Khmer Art, Paris, 1997.
|
|
