Page 31 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

309
A BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA
THAILAND, SUKHOTHAI STYLE, 16TH CENTURY
17¡ in. (44 cm.) high

$20,000-30,000

PROVENANCE
Acquired from Peng Seng, Bangkok, 1958.
With its gently arching brows, wide and prominent
nose, and full cheeks, the present figure stylistically
aligns with the art of the Sukhothai kingdom. In the
fifteenth century, the Ayutthaya kingdom conquered
Sukhothai but rather than forcibly integrating it into the
Ayutthayan empire, they installed their own bureaucra-
cy and allowed it a degree of autonomy. The Sukhothai
style continued to exert an infuence on the Buddhist
art of Thailand, even after its descent from power.
Compare the facial features and treatment of the drap-
ery of the present work with a bronze figure of Buddha
from the fifteenth century, illustrated by H. Woodward,
Jr. in The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand, London, 1997, p.
170, fig. 171; one discernable diference is the hairline,
which is linearly defined in the present work, in contrast
to the earlier, cited example.

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