G707.1] BRONZE FIGURE OF PRAJNAPARAMITA

KHMER, ANGKOR WAT STYLE

LATE 12^TH CENTURY

H. 18.5 CMS, 7 ¼ INS   

A rare and extensively gilded figure of Prajnaparamita, the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom, with a soft serene expression beneath a diadem and conical chignon, holding her identifying attributes, a lotus in her right hand and a book in her left, wearing elaborate jewellery and a tight, ankle-length ornamented sampot tied at the waist.

For a related figure, also extensively gilded, see cat. No. 4 in P. Krairiksh, Khmer Bronzes: A Selection from the Suan Phka Tevoda Collection, Lugano: Corner Bank Ltd, 1982.

Provenance: Private German collection.