 Greyish brown sandstone head of the Buddha Muchalinda Current and Past Exhibitions
11. Greyish brown sandstone head of the Buddha Muchalinda. Khmer, Angkor Period, Bayon style.Late 12th — early 13th century.H. 35 cms, 13 ¾ ins. Provenance: Private Swiss Collection, acquired between1945-1975.Reference: See catalogue no. 94 in Angkor et dix siècles d’art Khmer, Exhibition catalogue, Paris: Reunion des Musées Nationaux, 1997.
|  Grey sandstone torso of an apsara Current and Past Exhibitions
10. Grey sandstone torso of an apsara (a devata or celestial dancer).Khmer, Angkor period, Angkor Wat style.12th century.H. 31 cms, 12 ¼ ins. Provenance: Private Swiss Collection, acquired between1945-1975.Reference: See cat. 121 in M. Giteau, Khmer Sculpture and the Angkor Civilisation, London: Thames and Hudson, 1965.
|  Glazed Terracotta Relief depicting Mara's daughters Current and Past Exhibitions
Terracotta Relief.Burma, Pegu, possibly from the Shwe-gu-gyi pagoda.Late 15th century.H. 47 cm, 18 ½ ins; W. 35 cm, 13 ¾ ins.Mounted in an old wooden frame.A terracotta relief glazed with cream, green and brown and depicting two goddesses (devis), perhaps the daughters of Mara, one holding the other by the arm; an inscription along the top.Provenance:Formerly in the collection of Lieutenant-General Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers (1827-1900) until around 1970.Thereafter in a private English collection.The southern Burmese city of Pegu (ancient Hamsavati) was one of the capitals of the western Mon Kingdom. One of the most powerful Mon rulers was Dhammaceti (r 1462-92) who erected a series of monuments in 1479 commemorating the seven weeks of the Buddha’s sojourn at Bodhgaya- the place where he attained enlightenment. The central monument is the Shwe-gu-gyi pagoda, now much rebuilt and altered, and before it is a brick shrine built to mark week five when the three daughters of Mara- lord of the Realm of Desires- appeared before the Buddha to seduce him with earthly pleasures. Many of the glazed reliefs from the Mara shrine are now missing and it seems plausible, given the provenance of this piece that it came from the structure itself. Pegu reliefs have been widely copied and authentic, provenanced examples are therefore exceptionally rare.For two closely related images, in the Victoria and Albert and San Francisco museums respectively, see no. 21 in J. Lowry, Burmese Art, H.M.S.O., London 1974 and fig. 295 in M. Girard-Geslan et al., Art of Southeast Asia, H.N. Abrams inc., New York, 1994. The dimensions of the first example are almost identical.
|  ELMWOOD SHRINE Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 47.CHINA, PROBABLY SHANXI PROVINCE.19TH CENTURY.H. 49 CMS, 19 ¼ INS.W. 48 CMS, 19 INS. D. 35 CMS, 13 ¾ INS.A lacquered Elmwood (yumu) shrine of rectangular proportion, the sides plain, the front comprising four openwork carved panels, the two central panels opening as doors on dowel hinges, all behind an open carved overhang.Shrines of all sizes were used throughout the Shanxi region, in temples and in the home. This delicately carved shrine would have been placed on an altar table in the house of a middle class family. Inside there would have been a small Buddha and other symbolic objects for worship. The wooden tassels decorating the overhang are typical of the Shanxi regional style. An exhibition entitled Friends of the House: Furniture from China’s towns and villages, organised by Nancy Berliner and held at the Peabody Essex Museum in 1996, brought provincial Chinese furniture to the attention of mainstream collectors for the first time.
|  DANCING GANESHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 9.DANCING GANESHA.CENTRAL INDIA.PROBABLY MADHYA PRADESH.10TH – 11TH CENTURY.H. 53 CMS, 21 INS.A lively, reddish-buff sandstone figure of a dancing four armed Ganesha standing in a sweeping tribangha, his eyes almond-shaped and hypnotic, his broad ears embellished with incised lotus motifs; adorned with extensive jewellery including a diadem, an elaborate necklace, basubands and a serpent belt knotted above his ample belly.There are many fine examples of Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Siva from Madhya Pradesh – see, for example, figs. 2, 3 and 7 in P. Pal (ed.), Ganesh the Benevolent, Bombay: Marg Publications, 1995. PROVENANCE:Private English collection. Purchased by the current owner’s grandfather before 1970.
|  Chicken Wing Wood (jichimu) table Current and Past Exhibitions
Chicken Wing Wood (jichimu) table.China.Qing dynasty, 18th century.L. 55 ins, 140 cm.H. 32 ½ ins, 82.5 cm.W. 14 1/8 ins, 36 cm.A double sided Chicken Wing Wood (jichimu) table of rectangular form, the plain board top dovetailed to the end sections each of which has two rectangular openings decorated, inside and outside, with highly stylised dragons and geometric scrolling motifs; the legs finishing in scrolled feet, the spandrels elaborately designed with geometric cloud and dragon motif and the apron exquisitely carved with twisted ‘rope and ring’ design.Provenance: Private English Collection.Purchased at Spink and Son in 1995.The realistic carving of the ‘rope and ring’ design can be compared to a table illustrated as plate 76 in Tian Jiaqing, Classic Chinese Furniture of the Qing dynasty, London, Philip Wilson, 1996.
|  BUDDHA RELIEF Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 13.BUDDHA RELIEF.NORTHERN PAKISTAN.SWAT VALLEY.7TH - 8TH CENTURY.H. 51 CMS, 20 INS.A numinous white sandstone relief depicting the Buddha’s First Sermon at the Sarnath Deer Park; the principal figure seated in dhyanamudra upon an ornate lion throne, a layer of lotus leaves beneath containing a chakra flanked by two recumbent deer.After his Enlightenment the Buddha selected the Deer Park at Sarnath, near the ancient city of Benares, to deliver his First Sermon to the five ascetics who had abandoned him during the Enlightenment Cycle. He expounded the doctrine of the Middle Way; that the cause of all suffering was appetitive desire, which must be extinguished in order to gain liberation. For a comparable figure from the Mingora Valley, Swat, please see no. 129 in M. Ashraf Khan, Gandhara Sculptures in the Swat Museum. Saidu Sharif, 1993.
|  Bronze standing Buddha Current and Past Exhibitions
18. Bronze standing Buddha. Thailand, Mon period, Dvaravati style, 8th century .H. 24 cms, 9 ½ ins.Provenance: Private Japanese Collection. Reference: See colour pl. 5 in Dorothy H. Fickle, Images of the Buddha in Thailand, Singapore: Oxford University Press, 1989.
|  Bronze seated Buddha Current and Past Exhibitions
12. Bronze seated Buddha. Khmer, Angkor Period, Bayon style.Late 12th - early 13th century.H. 17 cms, 6 ¾ ins.Provenance: Private Japanese Collection.Reference: See catalogue no. 14 in P. Krairiksh, Khmer Bronzes: A Selection from the Suan Phka Tevoda Collection, Lugano: Corner Bank Ltd, 1982.
|  Bronze seated Buddha Current and Past Exhibitions
9. Bronze seated Buddha.Laos, 19th century.H. 50 cms, 19 ½ ins.A deep brown patinated bronze figure of a Buddha, seated on a high pedestal with his right hand in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’), the face smiling and serene beneath a conical usnisha rising to a lotus bud knop.Reference: For two similar 19th century Buddhas see page 242 (lower left and right) in S. Lopetcharat, Lao Buddha: The Image and Its History, Bangkok: Siam International Book Company, 2000.
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