Page 50 - 2021 March 16th Indian, Himalayan and Tibetan Art, Bonhams NYC New York

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A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA
THAILAND, SUKHOTHAI PERIOD, CIRCA 1350-1400
39 1/4 in. (99.8 cm) high

$40,000 - 60,000
泰國 素可泰王國時期 約1350-1400年 佛陀銅像

It is easy to mistake this Sukhothai Standing Buddha for one of the kingdom's famous Walking
Buddhas, such is the movement created by the sweep of the robe about his legs. The Buddha
stands erect with his left hand raised in a gesture of reassurance, his face projecting an air of
quiet authority beneath a tall flame rising from his ushnisha like a beacon of his enlightened
consciousness.

An example of the prized Sukhothai style, this bronze has an excellent pedigree. In the mid-
1960s, it was purchased by a U.S. diplomat on the advice of Rene-Yvon d'Argence (the late
Director Emeritus of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco) from Peng Seng (the eminent Thai
art and antiques dealer). Peng Seng's clients were primarily members of the Thai royal family
before a growing number of foreigners began to appreciate Thai Buddhist art. The bronze was
later exhibited at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco in the 1980s.

Translated as "Dawn of Happiness", the Sukhothai kingdom's reign lasted for 200 years
and is now regarded as the Thai Golden Age. Having wrested power from the Khmers, the
Sukhothai rulers endeavored to cease production of Buddha images in the Khmer style and
develop a new, uniquely Thai aesthetic. With the assistance of Singhalese Theravadan monks,
they adhered to textual prescriptions in ancient Pali treatises (shastras). Composed as similes,
among Buddha's signs of greatness (mahalakshanas), he has a nose "like a parrot's beak",
a chin "like a mango stone", his long and sinuous arms "like the trunk of a young elephant",
and his elegant hands "like a lotus bud opening". Their efforts yielded a beautiful Thai image
informed by poetry.
The present bronze's features compare closely to a "classic" Sukhothai masterpiece held in
the Ramkhamhaeng National Museum, Sukhothai, and an oft-published red-lacquered and
gilded bronze in the National Museum, Bangkok (see Stratton, Buddhist Sculptures of Northern
Thailand, Bangkok, 2004, p.165, fig.7.8; and National Museum Volunteers Group, Treasures
from the National Museum, Bangkok, 2010, p.35, no.54; respectively). Also compare the
elegant upswept eyes and recessed lips of a Buddha attributed to the second half of the 14th
century in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand,
1997, p.154, fig.155).

Provenance
Peng Seng, Bangkok
Collection of Mark S. Pratt, Washington, D.C, acquired from the above between 1963-1968
On long term loan to the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, early 1980s-1989

48 | BONHAMS