Page 19 - CHRISTIE'S Himalayan and SOutheast Asian Works of Art 09/13/17

(actual size)

609
A SILVER- AND COPPER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI

NORTHEASTERN INDIA OR TIBET, 12TH/13TH CENTURY
2º in. (6 cm.) high

$2,000-3,000

印度北部或西藏 十二/十三世紀 嵌銀和紅銅釋迦牟尼坐像

PROVENANCE

Acquired by the 1970s, by repute.
Accessioned by the Brooklyn Museum of Art, New York, 2010 (TL2010.38.44).

PUBLISHED

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24323

This small but exquisite early bronze fgure of Buddha Shakyamuni displays a unique combination
of stylistic features that suggest infuences from both Tibet and northeastern India. The modeling
of the body with broad shoulders and infated chest which narrows at the waist, as well as the inlay
of precious metals to accentuate the hem of the sanghati, are comparable to Pala school sculpture
from India (see U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Vol. 1, India and Nepal, Hong Kong,
2001, pp.266-267, cat no.85c). However, the very rounded shape of the head and facial features are
more similar to Tibetan examples from the period, as is the greenish hue of the metal (see U. von
Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.172, cat.no. 30B). While it is dificult to say
for certain from which culture this work originates, it is undoubtedly the creation of a skilled artist,
commissioned by a wealthy patron with the means to include costly silver and copper inlay.

17