 Painted plaster Caste Figures
CASTE FIGURES.INDIA, 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY.H. 11 CMS, 4 ¼ INS..A delightful collection of thirty-six plaster figures of officials, religious figures, tradesmen, servants and mendicants, each individually modelled and painted by hand.These expertly modelled and painted figures provide a snapshot of different levels of Indian society during the late nineteenth century. Such figures are fragile and do not normally survive in such numbers or in such an excellent condition. They were usually made of plaster and some were later embellished with cloth garments and with hair. They were mostly produced by local craftsmen in Krishnanagar near Calcutta, Lucknow and Poona as souvenirs for European visitors to the country. Their secondary purpose appears to have been to help westerners make sense of the bewildering complexity of Indian society. For a related group in the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, see cat. no. 365 in Bayly, C.A. (general editor), The Raj: India and the British 1600-1947. London: National Portrait Gallery, 1990. Provenance: English private collection.
|  OFFERING VESSEL (HSUN OK) Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 40.OFFERING VESSEL (HSUN OK).BURMA, PAGAN AREA.19TH CENTURY.H. 65 CMS, 25 ½ INS.A fine, gilded and lacquered Hsun Ok (offering vessel) with fitted upper and lower sections surmounted by a tiered finial; decorated with intricate bands of multi-coloured inlaid glass.Hsun Ok are placed on either side of a statue in a Buddhist temple, allowing devotees to place their offerings inside, thus accruing personal merit through their donation which in turn benefits the monastic establishment. Lacquered and gilded Hsun Ok, decorated in distinctive regional styles are found throughout Burma, but this general form, with a lid finial resembling a Buddhist stupa, is found throughout the country. This example is decorated with thayo, a mixture of lacquer and ash, which is rolled into a putty that can be used to create raised thread patterns. Following gilding, it was given an additional ornament of coloured glass spangles, arranged to resemble jewels, in typically Burmese taste and often seen trimming the robes of Buddha images. For similar examples see nos. 1 and 91 in R. Isaacs and T.R. Blurton, Visions from the Golden Land: Burma and the Art of Lacquer, London: British Museum, 2000.
|  LIMESTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 4.LIMESTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA.CHINA.FROM THE VICINITY OF QINGZHOU, SHANDONG PROVINCE.NORTHERN QI, 550-577 AD.H. 77.5 CMS, 30.5 INS.A magnificent grey limestone torso of the Buddha, the right hand (now missing) raised in abhayamudra (the gesture of dispelling fear) and the left hand (also missing) probably in varadamudra (the granting of wishes); the figure draped in a simple close fitting kasaya robe falling from both shoulders with simple incised U-shaped folds, the back with similarly incised folds.The establishment of the Northern Qi period in 550 AD brought with it an integration of Indian and Chinese Buddhist arts. In general, the slender modelling of the Northern Wei gave way to a figure with full rounded face, broad shoulders and protuberant chest, covered with light clinging garments. Looking at this torso, the way in which the kasaya garment clings to the body in a light and subtle manner suggesting the beauty of the figure beneath, shows the direct influence of Gupta art. For two very similar examples see plate 82, Zhao Pu-Chu, Buddhist Imagery Art at Longxing Temple of Qingzhou, 1999 and plate 115, exhibition catalogue, Treasures of Ancient China, Tokyo National Museum, 24th October – 17th December, 2000. Other similarly rendered figures were exhibited at the Royal Academy in 2002 and illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, plates 25 and 26, Royal Academy of Arts, Return of the Buddha: The Qingzhou Discoveries, 2002. PROVENANCE: Private English Collection.
|  LARGE SANDSTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catlogue no. 18.LARGE SANDSTONE TORSO OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.16TH - 17TH CENTURY. H. 43 CMS, 17 INS. A broad, muscular red sandstone torso of the Buddha, the broad central flap of his robe extending down to the navel; traces of black lacquer remaining. The central bronze Buddha image at Wat Yai Suwannaram, Phetchaburi, is dated to the 17th century and has similarly broad, powerful characteristics; the intention being to awe and overwhelm the viewer – see page 155 in S. Van Beek and L. Tettoni, The Arts Of Thailand, Hong Kong: Periplus Editions, 2000.Note: The two circular stone plugs on the upper chest are ancient repairs which would, originally, have been concealed by layers of lacquer and gold leaf. PROVENANCE:Private English collection.
|  Large sandstone head of a Jain Tirthankara (Jina)
G331. Western India.Probably from Rajasthan.11th – 12th century.H. 9 ½ ins, 24 cms. A life-sized, dark brown patinated sandstone head of a Jain Tirthankara (Jina), sensitively modelled with a benign, tranquil expression beneath bow-shaped brows; the eyes wide open with an intense spiritual gaze, the hair arranged in snail shell curls rising to a lotus usnisha.The principal Jain pantheon consists of twenty-four Tirthankaras (or saviours), the first being Rishabhanatha and the last Mahavira. A Tirthankara, or Jina has successfully passed through all the cycles of rebirth to create a passage for believers. Mahavira (c. 599-527 BC) was a historical figure and a near contemporary of the Buddha.For a complete seated figure of a Jina from Veravan, Rajasthan with a similar head, see no. 29, p. 40 in K. Desai, Jewels on the Crescent: Masterpieces of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai), Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2002. For a related seated marble figure from Mt Abu, Rajasthan see no. 51 in Joseph Dye, The Arts of India: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2001.Note: The nose of this sculpture is restored.
|  Kashmir robe fragment Current and Past Exhibitions
Kashmir robe fragment.India, Kashmir.circa 1840.H. 24 ins, 61 cm.W. 16 ¾ ins, 42.5 cm.An exquisite woollen textile fragment, originally the back section of a prince’s robe, the ivory ground embroidered in exceptional detail in polychrome threads, the central section depicting two figures seated together beneath a canopy, cooled by a servant with a fan to the right and a pair of Hanuman figures approaching to the left; another enthroned figure beneath, all set within a border of kneeling figures, some winged, to either side a seated Ganesha supported by a large rat; an undulating serpent headed ribbon linking niches with figures, finally a lobed palmette embroidered in similar extravagant detail with a pair of figures, one winged, the design culminating in a hanging boteh with upturned ends surrounded with birds. To each side and to the top the sleeve border edging remains.
|  Kashmir robe fragment Current and Past Exhibitions
Kashmir robe fragment.India, Kashmir.circa 1840.H. 16 ins, 40.7 cm.W. 9 7/8 ins, 25.3 cm.Four exquisitely embroidered border sections from a prince’s robe, each depicting various figures; two smoking a hookah, one man on a horse, another with a gun, a lady carrying a peacock surrounded by other animals, several seated in armchairs and others bearing gifts, the costumes and fine detail beautifully executed in colourful threads on an ivory woollen ground. Other panels available.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
17 HEAD OF BUDDHA.NORTHERN AFGHANISTAN.PROBABLY FROM THE KUNDUZ AREA.KUSHAN, 1ST- 2ND CENTURY AD.H. 36 CMS, 14 INS. A highly important and possibly unique white limestone head of the Buddha, the hair emanating in waves from a centre-point above a raised urna, the eyes half open and the mouth set with a gentle smile; with the remains of both shoulders and a mandorla still present.The style of this large, impressive sculpture marks a transition between the classical art of sites such as Ai Khanum and the more syncretic flavour of later art from Gandhara, typified by the artists of Hadda. Almost nothing of a similar style has survived the ravages of time and the attentions of iconoclasts. A rare exception is the celebrated limestone relief of the Buddha and disciples beneath the bodhi tree, found at Fayaz-tepe, near Termez, Southern Uzbekistan: see plate 175 in Shiruku Rodo dai bunmeiten. Shiruku rodo, oashisu to sogen no michi, (The Grand Exhibition of Silk Road civilizations). 3 vols, exhibition catalogue, Nara National Museum. Nara: Nara Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan, 1988 and fig. 265 in Jonathan Tucker, The Silk Road: Art and History, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2003.Provenance: Private English collection.Previously sold in our 2002 exhibition ‘Glimmerings from the East’, catalogue no. 2.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
14 HEAD OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.17TH – 18TH CENTURY.H. 39.5 CMS, 15 ½ INS. A large and unusual gilded and lacquered stucco head of Buddha, the eyes inlaid with mother of pearl and gazing downwards in meditation, the mouth set with a gentle smile and the hair rising to a domed usnisha and composed of snail-shell curls.For a brief history of Ayutthaya please see catalogue no. 16.For a comparable head in bronze please see fig. 236 (cat. no. 99) in Hiram W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand. The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.
|  HEAD OF BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 10.HEAD OF BUDDHA.THAILAND.EARLY AYUTTHAYA PERIOD.14TH – 15TH CENTURY.H. 42 CMS, 16 ½ INS. A large and beautifully sculpted, pale buff sandstone head of Buddha, the eyes cast downwards in meditation and the face beatific beneath a raised chignon; the neck with three lines denoting greatness, mounted on an old marble base.This head, from an old French collection, was crafted during the period of Thailand’s Ayutthaya Kingdom. The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring kingdoms of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well. Colossal stone and stucco images of Buddha characterise the artistic creations of the early Ayutthaya period. For a comparable head see cat. no. 68 in H.W. Woodward, The Sacred Sculpture of Thailand: The Alexander B. Griswold Collection, Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1997.
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