Page 105 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

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A COPPER ALLOY SHRINE TO CROWNED BUDDHA similarly depicts the central figure under a parasol and canopy, with
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, KURKIHAR, CIRCA 11TH CENTURY his right shoulder bare, and seated above a ‘batwing’ lotus pedestal
The reverse, with a single line dedicatory inscription, partially (Huntington Archive #2053). A very close casting of Standing Crowned
translated, ‘A pious gift of “Da”[?]...’ Buddha from the horde is attributed a c.11th century date (Huntington
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61939 Archive #2317).
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) high
Samuel Eilenberg was a Polish-born American mathematical genius
$20,000 - 30,000 and one of the most revered collectors of Indian and Southeast Asian
art of the 20th century. Owing to his primary interest in algebraic
印度東北部 庫基哈爾 約十一世紀 寶冠佛陀銅像 typology, which involves the discovery of algebraic axioms, or rules, in
objects and spatial relationships, the iconometry of India’s religious art
Formerly of the collection of Samuel Eilenberg (1913-98), this gem of immediately drew his fascination during a trip to Bombay in the 1950s.
a miniature shrine to Crowned Buddha neatly frames him between In 1989, Eilenberg donated more than 400 South and Southeast Asian
two stupas and under the Bodhi tree and a parasol. The shrine is cast sculptures to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. He had a
in the Kurkihar style, named after a hoard of nearly 150 sculptures penchant for small, eccentric, and fairly unique sculptures like the
preserved in the Patna Museum, which were excavated in 1930 in present example.
Kurkihar, Bihar. Among these excavated works, almost a hundred
bear inscriptions dating them to the 10th to 12th century. From the Provenance
hoard, a larger shrine of Crowned Buddha flanked by bodhisattvas Collection of Samuel Eilenberg, New York (1913-98)
Private New York Collection

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