Page 143 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED CHICAGO COLLECTION
464
AN LARGE AND RARE ANDESITE HEAD OF BUDDHA
INDONESIA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURY
14 in. (35.6 cm.) high
$120,000-180,000
PROVENANCE:
Aaron Vecht, Amsterdam, circa 1950-1955.
Collection of Dr. Johan Pribyl, Vienna, by 3 January 1962.
Doris Weiner Gallery, New York, 24 October 2000.
Christie's New York, 20 March 2012, lot 143.
This magnificently carved head of Buddha closely resembles the manifold
transcendental Buddhas erected in Central Java under the Sailendra Dynasty
at the beginning of the ninth century. The forehead extends broadly over heavy
lids and a slight, serene smile, giving the Buddha a quiescent and particularly
introspective expression. Certain features of this sculpture speak directly
to the classical Central Javanese Buddha images of the ninth and tenth
centuries, including the clearly defined curls, elongated earlobes and smooth
chiseling of the porous volcanic stone. The soft contours, straight nose, and
plump lips are reminiscent of Indian Gupta prototypes. The Gupta Empire,
spanning from the fourth to sixth centuries, was known for the development
of sensual features and balanced volumes that strongly influenced the styles
of later kingdoms. The present example, in part due to its material and to
local Buddhist considerations, is a distinct development upon this prototype
through sensitive, lifelike modeling with subtle contours.

The present work can be compared to two similar examples, including the
head of a dhyani buddha from the Avery Brundage Collection, illustrated by
R. d'Argence in Indian and South-East Asian Stone Sculptures from the Avery
Brundage Collection, 1969, pp. 86-87, and a head of Buddha in the Rietberg
Museum, illustrated by J. Fontein in The Art of Southeast Asia; The Collection
of the Museum Rietberg Zurich, 2007, pp. 106-107. In the two comparable
examples, the balanced proportions and curved treatment of the rough
surface speak to an emphasis on creating outwardly naturalistic and inwardly
thoughtful images of Buddha.
The present work comes from the collection of the esteemed Amsterdam-
based art dealer and collector, Aaron Vecht, who acquired the work in the early
1950s, as confirmed by J. Polack, the director of the Documentation Centre for
Ancient Indonesian Art, who retain the Vecht's archives. After the head was
acquired by Dr. Johan Pribyl of Vienna, it was confirmed as being authentic and
Letter from A.J. Bernet Kempers to Dr. Johann Pribyl
of the period via with A.J. Bernet Kempers, a preeminent scholar of Southeast dated 3.1.1962
Asian art, in early 1962. The work remained in the collection of Dr. Pribyl of
Vienna for nearly forty years.

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