Page 70 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

870
A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA
SRI LANKA, KANDYAN PERIOD, 18TH CENTURY
15 3/8 in. (39 cm) high

$50,000 - 70,000
斯里蘭卡 康提時期 十八世紀 佛陀銅立像

The superior modeling of this standing bronze figure of Buddha is evident in the treatment
of the right hand—with its precise digits, fleshy palm, and lotus emblem. Also, a rarely-seen
indentation distinguishing the legs under the robe, the mere suggestion of the right nipple,
and the curvaceous sweep of his right side, mark the bronze’s distinction. But its most
striking feature is the sensitivity afforded to the beautifully rounded face, which achieves a
natural brow bone with subtle contours around his heavy-lidded downcast eyes, conveying
a deep and blissful peace. While there are grander, gilded examples of the Kandyan period’s
highly abstracted figurative style, few are as well and snsitively modeled as this superior
figure of Buddha offering reassurance (abhaya mudra) with his right hand.

The Kingdom of Kandy emerged as the pre-eminent Sinhalese political authority and patron
of Buddhism by the 17th century. Two predominant forces inform the style of Kandyan
Buddhist art: one is the continuance of Sinhalese tradition in depicting Buddha with a broad
body type wrapped in a pleated robe, set by colossal statues of the Anuradhapura and
Polunnaruwa periods, such as the Avukana Buddha and the sculptures of Gal Vihara. The
other is a South Indian tradition of expressing dynastic identity through artistic patronage
of religious objects, expressed with enthusiasm by the Nayak princes, who were invited to
assume Kandy’s throne after its last Sinhalese king died without an heir in 1747.

Represented by the present sculpture, the Kandyan style plays with abstraction in an
almost modern way. The curved contour of the figure’s right side contrasts with the straight
edge of its left, and the honey-colored surface is finished with panache using formalized
waves to convey the wrinkling of fine gossamer under Sri Lanka’s tropical humidity.

Published
Phoenix Art Museum, Guardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka, Phoenix, 2003, p.152.

Exhibited
Guardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka, Phoenix Art Museum, 8 February - 11 May 2003;
The Cantor Art Center, Stanford University, 2 March - 12 June 2005; University of Virginia
Art Museum, 21 January - 19 March 2006.

Provenance
Private Collection, US, by 1957
Thence by descent

68 | BONHAMS