Page 78 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

THE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED PRIVATE COLLECTOR
333
AN IMPORTANT MARBLE FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
SRI LANKA, ANURADHAPURA PERIOD, 6TH-7TH CENTURY
29Ω in. high (74.9 cm.)

$180,000-250,000

PROVENANCE
Property from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Phillips; Christie’s,
New York, 17 September 2003, lot 35.
EXHIBITED
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The
Brooklyn Museum, “Light of Asia: Buddha Shakyamuni in Asian Art”,
4 March 1984-10 February 1985.

LITERATURE
P. Pal, Light of Asia: Buddha Shakyamuni in Asian Art, Los Angeles, 1984,
p. 206-207, no. 89.
U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990,
p. 124, no. 24A.

The large-scale, iconic seated Buddha depicted here is one of very few type were originally coated with stucco and painted, allowing for additions
complete extent examples of late-Anuradhapura sculpture. It has passed such as curls on the hair, with the eyes often inlaid with painted crystal or
through two important private collections, with a rich international publication stone. For similar wear patterns to dolomitic marble, compare the surface of
and domestic exhibition history. the current work with a contemporaneous head of Buddha, illustrated by J.
Baker in Guardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka, Phoenix, 2003, p. 68, image 1.
The earliest known Buddhist sculptures in Sri Lanka date to the third century
CE, the iconographic and stylistic language inherited from the important Another elegant detail of note appears on the reverse of the sculpture, which
historical site of Amaravati in Andhra Pradesh, India. Examples of the elegant was carved in the round. The edge of the diaphanous robe (only visible from
Amaravati style can be seen in the present lot in the upright posture; the solid, the front through the crook of the proper left elbow) cascades down the back
feshy physiognomy; the downward slope of the shoulders; the positioning of of fgure, as is thrown over the shoulder, and imbues the sculpture with a
the arms with a slight bend at the elbows. lifelike quality.

An unusual feature of the present lot is the unadorned hairstyle, rather than For further examples of late-Anuradhapura-period sculpture in dolomitic
the typical stylized or snailshell curls of Buddha. It may represent Buddha marble, see three sculptures of seated Buddha from the sixth-eighth
moments after having his head shaved, or it may be an unworked portion of centuries, illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka,
the sculpture. Carved from coarse-grained dolomite marble, sculptures of this Hong Kong, 1990, p. 124-125, cat. nos. 24B, 24C and 24E.

U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, P. Pal, Light of Asia: Buddha Shakyamuni in Asian Art, Los Angeles, 1984, cover and p. 207.
1990, cover and p. 124.

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