 VOLCANIC ANDESITE FIGURE OF GANESHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 11.VOLCANIC ANDESITE FIGURE OF GANESHA.EASTERN JAVA.EARLY PERIOD.10TH - 11TH CENTURY.. H. 69 CMS, 27 INS.A large volcanic andesite figure of Ganesha seated on a cushion (asana) of skulls, his feet pressed together, holding a bowl of sweetmeats in his left hand and a skullcap in his right; wearing a thick diagonal upavita (sacred thread) and extensive jewellery including basubands, bracelets and belts, with matted hair and an intricate headdress surmounted by a further skull.Images of Ganesha in Indonesian art are characterized by many of the same attributes as those of his father, Siva. These include a crown of matted hair, a skull (sometimes with a crescent moon), and a sacred thread (upavita) in the form of a serpent. For a related example, see p. 335 no. 5 in Edi Sedyawati, Ganesha Statuary of the Kadiri and Sinhasari periods, Leiden, 1994.PROVENANCE: Private collection, U.K.
|  STANDING AVALOKITESVARA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 20.STANDING AVALOKITESVARA.KHMER.ANGKOR PERIOD.BAYON STYLE.LATE 12TH – EARLY 13TH CENTURY.H. (INCLUDING TANG): 170 CMS, 67 INS.A monumental sandstone figure of a four-armed Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Infinite Compassion; muscular and powerful, the face beatific beneath a raised chignon bearing a seated figure of Buddha Amitabha, wearing a short pleated sampot secured by a belt embellished with lotus motifs and jewelled pendants, with broad fishtail pleats at the front and back, the upper left hand holding a sacred water vessel.These images are believed to represent the deified form of the Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII (r. 1181-1218?). During King Jayavarman VII’s reign Mahayana Buddhism became the state religion, the Khmer empire reached its greatest extent- as far as the Thai border areas, the Champa kingdom of modern-day Vietnam and parts of Laos as well- and many of its greatest monuments were erected. The temples of Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Banteay Chmar and the great enclosure of Angkor Thom were all built during his reign.There is a fine example of a four-armed Avalokitesvara from Preah Khan (Angkor), of some 2.15 metres (7 feet) in height in the National Museum, Phnom Penh- the head is reproduced as fig. 526 in M. Girard-Geslan et al, Art of Southeast Asia, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1998. The head and torso of a large example were exhibited at a 1994 exhibition in New York - see nos. 19 and 20 in M. Lerner, Ancient Khmer Sculpture, Chinese Porcelain Company exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994. PROVENANCE:Private English collection.Formerly in a Private Collection in Singapore from 1985.
|  SCHIST BUDDHA RELIEF Current and Past Exhibitions
CATALOGUE no. 6.SCHIST BUDDHA RELIEF.NORTHWEST PAKISTAN OR AFGHANISTAN.GANDHARA.HADDA STYLE.4TH - 5TH CENTURY.H. 41 CMS, 16 INS. A grey schist relief with a bust of the Buddha standing beneath a Bodhi tree with his right hand raised in abhayamudra (the gesture of dispelling fear); a jewelled and moustached attendant with an elaborate turban (probably Indra), standing to the right with his hands raised in supplication.This relief probably depicts the episode from the Buddha’s life known as the ‘Entreaty to Preach the Doctrine’. After the visit of the two merchants Trapusa and Bhallika (see catalogue no. 4), the Buddha, thinking the Doctrine too profound, hesitates to disseminate it. Brahma, Indra , the four maharajas or lokapalas (‘guardians or lords of the cardinal points’) and other gods of various heavens visit him as he sits beneath the Bodhi tree and implore him to propagate the Doctrine. For four related friezes please see plates 193 to 196 in W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum. London: British Museum Press, 1996.
|  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.
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