Page 34 - CHRISTIE'S Himalayan and SOutheast Asian Works of Art 09/13/17

The Thyssen-Bornemisza Buddha

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A LARGE AND IMPORTANT GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA

NEPAL, 13TH/14TH CENTURY
19√ in. (50.5 cm.) high
$600,000-800,000

尼泊爾 十三/十四世紀 鎏金銅佛陀像

PROVENANCE

Sotheby’s New York, 1 December 1993, lot 23.

PUBLISHED

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24326

This impressively large and fnely cast fgure of Buddha is seated in dhyanasana
with his right hand in bhumisparshamudra, as he calls the earth to bear witness
to his meditation. There are numerous indications of his divinity, including the
lotuses on his palms and soles, his pierced earlobes surmounted by diminutive
lotuses, his elongated eyes with the pupils gazing inward, the raised urna
centering his forehead, and his tightly curled hair rising over the ushnisha, which
is topped by a conical fnial. He is dressed in a sheer sanghati with richly incised
hems bordered by beads cast in high relief, with one pleated end elegantly
draped over his left shoulder. The bottom of the robe fans out in thick pleats
below his crossed ankles. This work is lavishly gilt overall and retains much of its
consecration material, visible from the underside.

Elegantly modeled, this large fgure of Buddha is comparable to a seated
fgure from the same period (see U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet
Vol. 1: India and Nepal, 2001, pp.522-523, cat.no.170c). Compare the robust
chest, covered in a simple sanghati gathered in fne undulating folds at his
shoulder and bordered by an incised scroll border with beaded rims. The arms
are rounded and elongated and the legs gracefully folded in padmasana. The
faces are square-shaped with elongated eyes centered by an urna. Each ear is
decorated with a single fower and the hair is neatly arranged in tight curls rising
to a domed ushnisha. While von Schroeder notes that the comparable sculpture
“was either imported from Nepal or is the work of Newar craftsmen in Tibet,”
the single fower above each ear suggests the infuence of eleventh-century
Kashmiri prototypes from Western Tibet (ibid., pp.152-166, cat.no.40B-47B).
The adaptation of these early features illustrates the cross-pollination of artistic
styles that spanned centuries. The present sculpture exemplifes the ability of
the Newar artist to translate these earlier features into a distinctly Newar style,
while the size suggests it was an important commission.

Compare with a another Nepalese gilt bronze fgure of Buddha sold at Christie’s
New York on 18 March 2015 (lot 4018 for $425,000), which is three-quarters
the size of the present fgure. Almost identical in terms of the iconographic
details, the present work exhibits a greater refnement in the overall casting
of the fgure. The proportions of the body and head, the hands and feet and
especially the facial features, which are meticulously rendered, give the Buddha
a quintessentially Newari appearance. The present fgure represents the peak of
sophistication for early Nepalese bronze work, particularly for a sculpture of such
large size and fne state of preservation.

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