Page 62 - CHRISTIE'S Himalayan and SOutheast Asian Works of Art 09/13/17

PROPERTY FROM A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTION,
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

635

A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF A WALKING BUDDHA
THAILAND, SUKHOTHAI PERIOD, 15TH CENTURY
17º in. (43.7 cm.) high

$80,000-120,000

泰國 素可泰風格 十五世紀 銅踥蹀佛像

PROVENANCE:

with Spink & Son, London.
Acquired by the present owner from the above on 15 May 1997.

Buddhist literature dictates four positions in which the Buddha
can be portrayed - sitting, standing, reclining and walking. While
seated or standing images are prolifc, reclining and walking
depictions are more rare, making this exquisite bronze fgure
of a walking Buddha particularly important. By the fourteenth
century in Thailand the walking Buddha, which had previously
been relegated to relief sculpture, is depicted in the round.
The Chalieng stucco relief dated to the late thirteenth century
illustrates the stylistic form out of which later three-dimensional
works, such as the present fgure, emerged (C. Stratton and M.
McNair Scott, The Art of Sukhothai: Thailand’s Golden Age, Kuala
Lumpur, 1981, p.68, fg.57). Compare the long oval faces with
arched eyebrows joined just above the long protruding nose.
The thin lips are slightly upturned in a subtle smile, the chins are
rounded and defned. The curls of the hair tight and thick, the
hairline low on the forehead. The modeling of the long undulant
bodies are similarly understood, with special emphasis on broad
rounded shoulders which appear pulled back, allowing the chest
to protrude. The hands of the stucco relief are now lost, but would
have mimicked the present work with the right arm swaying in
an almost serpentine fashion and the left rising in abhayamudra.
The elongated legs with thick rounded thighs give way to narrow
calves, echoing the shape of the torsos. The left leg is straight,
planted frmly on the ground while the right leg bends, lifting the
heel as the Buddha steps forward. The fgures both wear ankle-
length diaphanous robes draped over their left shoulders with a
sash dangling down their chests. In contrast to the fat hem and
pleated sash of the relief fgure, the robe of the present work
has a billowing hem and fat fshtail sash, further adding to the
fgure’s movement.

Portraying the Buddha as a three dimensional fgure was well
suited to the use of bronze in place of stucco. Stratton and
McNair Scott note, “Bronze casting must have come as a natural
development for these Sukhothai sculptors who were already
skilled in the art of modeling stucco” (ibid. p.73). Sukhothai
period bronze images of the walking Buddha, particularly those
of large size and exceptional quality like the present example,
are extremely rare. The majority of the known examples are
in museums. Compare the present fgure with monumental
fourteenth-century bronze walking Buddha in Wat Benjamabopit,
Bangkok (ibid. p.75, fg.65). Both works display nearly identical
modeling and emphasis on exaggerated proportions, making the
Buddha appear almost boneless, moving with water-like fuidity.
For further comparison, see a bronze walking Buddha in the
Asian Civilizations Museum, Singapore (1999-01714).
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