Page 61 - 2020 Sept 22 Himalayin and Indian Works of Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week
P. 61
9/2/2020 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art | Sotheby's
Indian, Hi ma layan & Southeast Asian Works of Art
New York |22 Sep 2020 | 12:00 PM EDT
Lot 345
A BRONZE FIGURAL LAMP, EAST OR SOUTHEAST ASIA , 1ST/ 2ND CENTUR Y
Estimate: 80,000 - 120,000 USD
ANOTHER PROPERTY
A BRONZE FIGURAL LAMP
EAST OR SOUTHEAST ASIA, 1ST/ 2ND CENTURY
20¾ by 11⅜ in. (52.6 by 29 cm)
the ingenuously designed and skillfully crafted lamp comprising a swan-headed S-shaped hook connected with interlocking rings
to a bell-shaped cupola capped by a diminutive ram. Three chains descending from the cupola suspend a humanoid figure
oriented horizontally, as if airborne, carrying the lamp basin with a tiny conical spike in its center to hold the wick. The figure, with
fantastical and exaggerated facial features, is ornamented in an elaborate domed headdress with a scroll pattern and matching
necklace and has a small bird perched on its raised and outstretched right leg.
Provenance
Ha Thuc Can Family Collection
Literature
Jonathan Tucker, The Silk Road Art and History, London, 2003, p. 85, fig. 99.
Catalogue Note
This rare, artfully conceived and elegant object with its unusual combination of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic elements is at
once both surreal and playful. Most importantly it is a tour de force of ancient bronze casting with a perfect alignment of design,
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