Page 87 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

879
A LARGE COPPER ALLOY HEAD OF BUDDHA
THAILAND, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY
13 3/8 in. (34 cm) high
$40,000 - 60,000

泰國 約十六世紀 銅佛首

This large bronze head of Buddha is a paragon of the Thai sculptor’s ability to represent
the Buddha with stylized features, emphasizing his supernatural nature and gentle spiritual
authority. Likely produced at a time when the Lan Na Kingdom of northern Thailand’s power
waned while the Ayutthaya Kingdom of central Thailand ascended as the dominant Thai
political authority, this head appears to incorporate features of both Lan Na and Ayutthaya
styles of the 16th century to arrive at this elegant marriage of soft modelling and crisp lines.

Among the head’s stylistic features that might be ascribed a northern Thai origin are its
prominent snail shell curls, arranged into a thinly banded heart-shaped hairline. Moreover,
its high arching brow converging at the nose, graceful upswept eyes, and soft ovoid shape
follow the late 15th- and early 16th-century Lan Na Buddha images produced in Chiang
Mai and neighboring Lamphun, which Stratton categories as the ‘Thai Ping’ type. Compare,
for example, several pieces published by Stratton including two masterpieces held in Wat
Pa Sang Ngam in Lamphun (Stratton, Buddhist Sculptures of Northern Thailand, Bangkok,
2004, pp.xxxiv & 223-5, nos.C.16, C.17, 8.71, 8.73 & 8.78). Stratton explains that for many
‘Northerners’, Thai Ping buddhas are considered some of the most beautiful images of Lan
Na, representing a crescendo in the pursuit of their own artistic identity, distinct from that of
their predecessors, the Khmer and the Mon (ibid., pp.131 & 133).

Meanwhile, among this head’s differences from these Lan Na Buddha images are its taller
forehead and the continuation of its brow into a thinly ridged nose bridge. The shape
and technical execution of its mouth also differs, having wider lips with a double-incised
perimeter. These elements appear to follow conventions of the Ayutthaya style developed in
central Thailand. For example, its treatment of the brow, nose, and mouth are mirrored in a
stone Ayutthaya head in the Walters Art Gallery, attributed to the 14th/15th century (25.65).
Moreover, its converging brow and nose are common among Ayutthaya Crowned Buddha
images of the 16th century (Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand, Seattle, 1997,
p.226, fig.220).

The amalgamation of these northern and central styles likely indicate that this head was
produced by Ayutthaya workshops incorporating northern features as an homage to some
of Lan Na’s most celebrated Buddha sculptures. As Woodward notes, the sculpture of
16th-century Ayutthaya certainly appears to incorporate artistic styles of other kingdoms,
particularly that of Lan Na. He adds that, “In matters of religion it may have been Lan Na
that was leading the way, for it was northern monks who were the superior Pali scholars
and who could therefore win respect for learning” (ibid., p.227). A closely related example,
apart from its quintessential Ayutthayan small nubs of hair, was sold at Christie’s, New York,
20 March 2009, lot 1221.

Provenance
Jean-Claude Moreau-Gobard, Paris, 9 November 1968
Private French Collection

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