Page 377 - Chinese Art Auction April 25, 2020 2020 Galerie Zacke

446 Weight: 293.3 g
A bRONZe FIguRe OF buddhA shAKyAMuNI ON A Dimensions: Height 12 cm
lION ThRONe, PAlA PeRIOd
His face in a tranquil countenance with features set in a slight smile, with
Northeastern India, 8th- 12th century. remnants of silver inlay to eyes. beaded hairstyle surmounted by a domed ushnisha and bud-shaped
Well-modeled seated in dhyanasana on a lotus base with beaded rim, cintamani. The two lions supporting the stepped throne are elaborately
his hands finely detailed in bhumisparsa mudra with fingers and toes cast recumbent, flanking a central flower medallion. The seal plate is a
slightly splayed, the figure wearing a fitted sanghati draped over his left later addition of Tibetan origin and bears a neatly incised vishvajra symbol.
shoulder and falling in elegant folds at his feet. This indicates an origin possibly from Nalanda Monastery, Bihar, a famous
center for Buddhist studies between the 8th and 12th century. Scholars
Provenance: From the collection of from countries outside India studied Vajrayana Buddhism at the Nalanda
Georg Weifert (1850-1937). Thence by University and on their way back usually carried manuscripts written on
descent in the same family. Weifert was palm-leaf and small bronze or stone statues. This Buddha image must have
a Serbo-Austrian industrialist and the been in Tibet for many centuries, as the seal plate looks like from the 14th
first governor of the Federal Bank of the or 15th century. In any case, the statue was touched and ritually washed
Kingdom of Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. countless of times, giving it extensive natural wear and a superb patina.
condition: Some losses, warping,
extensive wear and traces of use, Literature comparison: Von Schroeder, Ulrich. 1981. Indo-Tibetan Bronzes,
remnants of old lacquer coating and pp. 252–261, plates 54–58. Von Schroeder, Ulrich. 2001. Buddhist
varnish, the seal plate of Tibetan origin Sculptures in Tibet, Volume One: India & Nepal; pp. 228-229, pl. 67.
and probably an addition from the 14th or
15th century. The mandorla lost. Georg Weifert (1850-1937) estimate euR 1.500,-
Starting price EUr 750,-

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