 STANDING BUDDHA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 8.STANDING BUDDHA.CAMBODIA OR VIETNAM, MEKONG DELTA.KHMER.PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD.ANGKOR BOREI (TAKEO). 7TH CENTURY.H. 87.5 CMS, 34 ½ INS.A serene, exquisitely carved grey sandstone figure of Buddha Sakyamuni standing with his feet apart, wearing a clinging, double-hemmed sanghati covering both shoulders, the face beatific and calm, his hair with large snail shell curls rising to a conical usnisha.Early Chinese writers refer to a maritime kingdom in Cambodia called Funan, its Mon-Khmer population profoundly affected by Indian influences. It extended along the coast of Indochina from the Gulf of Siam to central Vietnam. There is abundant archaeological evidence of a flourishing Funanese commercial society centered on the fertile Mekong Delta from the 1st century to the 6th century AD. Excavations at the port city of Oc-Eo in what is now southern Vietnam reveal that the town was served by a network of canals and was an important trade link between India and China. Ongoing excavations in southern Cambodia have revealed the existence of another important city near the present-day village of Angkor Borei. A group of inland kingdoms, vassals of Funan and known collectively to the Chinese as Chenla, flourished in the 6th and 7th centuries from southern Cambodia to southern Laos. By the beginning of the 7th century Chenla had overthrown Funan and founded the kingdom of Cambodia. The first stone inscriptions in the Khmer language and the first brick and stone Hindu temples in Cambodia date from the Chenla period.For a comparable sculpture see pl. 2 in Angkor et dix siècles d’art Khmer, Exhibition catalogue, Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 1997.PROVENANCE:Private Scottish collection.
|  STANDING AVALOKITESVARA Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 20.STANDING AVALOKITESVARA.KHMER.ANGKOR PERIOD.BAYON STYLE.LATE 12TH – EARLY 13TH CENTURY.H. (INCLUDING TANG): 170 CMS, 67 INS.A monumental sandstone figure of a four-armed Avalokitesvara, the Lord of Infinite Compassion; muscular and powerful, the face beatific beneath a raised chignon bearing a seated figure of Buddha Amitabha, wearing a short pleated sampot secured by a belt embellished with lotus motifs and jewelled pendants, with broad fishtail pleats at the front and back, the upper left hand holding a sacred water vessel.These images are believed to represent the deified form of the Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII (r. 1181-1218?). During King Jayavarman VII’s reign Mahayana Buddhism became the state religion, the Khmer empire reached its greatest extent- as far as the Thai border areas, the Champa kingdom of modern-day Vietnam and parts of Laos as well- and many of its greatest monuments were erected. The temples of Banteay Kdei, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan, Banteay Chmar and the great enclosure of Angkor Thom were all built during his reign.There is a fine example of a four-armed Avalokitesvara from Preah Khan (Angkor), of some 2.15 metres (7 feet) in height in the National Museum, Phnom Penh- the head is reproduced as fig. 526 in M. Girard-Geslan et al, Art of Southeast Asia, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1998. The head and torso of a large example were exhibited at a 1994 exhibition in New York - see nos. 19 and 20 in M. Lerner, Ancient Khmer Sculpture, Chinese Porcelain Company exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994. PROVENANCE:Private English collection.Formerly in a Private Collection in Singapore from 1985.
|  Seated Avalokitesvara
Seated Avalokitesvara.Vietnam, Cham period.Dong Duong style.9th- 10th century. H. 66 cm, 26 ins; W. 50 cm, 19 ¾ ins; D: 26 cm, 10 ¼ ins. A dynamic, delicately carved sandstone figure of a four-armed Avalokitesvara; seated in a relaxed posture atop a tiered base and holding his various attributes, comprising the lotus flower, a bowl of nectar, a sword and scriptures.This unusual figure embodies the aesthetic characteristics of the Dong Duong period; namely soft contours, exaggerated features and a calm facial expression. Avalokitesvara’s calm expression is in fact an allusion to the Mahayana Buddhist teachings that became popular during the Dong Duong period. The production of Avalokitesvara images was prolific during this time period because of his importance within the Mahayana pantheon.For two related sculptures, please see plates 50 and 54, La Statuaire Du Champa: Recherches Sur Les Cultes et l’Iconographie, Paris: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1963. The same figures are illustrated as plates 42 and 43 in Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Bangkok: River Books, 2001.PROVENANCE:English private collection.
|  SANDSTONE HANDS OF A DEITY Current and Past Exhibitions
No. 23(LEFT). LARGE BRONZE HAND OF BUDDHA .THAILAND, SUKHOTHAI PERIOD, 14TH CENTURY.L. 25 CMS, 10 INS.Reference: see nos. 58a and b in T. Bowie (ed.), The Sculpture of Thailand, Exhibition catalogue, New York: Asia Society, 1972.SOLDNo. 24 (CENTRE).SANDSTONE HAND OF A DEITY, POSSIBLY PRAJNAPARAMITA, HOLDING A LOTUS.KHMER, ANGKOR PERIOD, BAYON STYLE, LATE 12TH – EARLY 13TH CENTURY.L. 19 CMS, 7 ½ INS.No. 25(RIGHT). BRONZE HAND OF A MALE DEITY.SOLD.PROVENANCE (ALL THREE): Property of a private Japanese collector.
|  SANDSTONE FIGURE OF VISHNU Current and Past Exhibitions
No. 9.SANDSTONE FIGURE OF VISHNU.KHMER, PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD, PHNOM DA STYLE, 6TH - 7TH CENTURY.H. 28.5 CMS, 11 ¼ INS.A grey sandstone figure of a four-armed Vishnu, the face broad and imposing beneath a mitre headdress, the upper left hand holding a conch and the upper right a chakra, the belt and pleats of the knee-length sampot delineated by shallow, incised lines.Note: The cross-bar behind the head has been repaired.For a related figure of a Phnom Da Vishnu in the Phnom Penh Museum, see plate 84 in M. Girard-Geslan et al, Art of Southeast Asia, New York: Harry N. Abrams Inc, 1998.PROVENANCE: Property of a private Japanese collector.
|  Radiating Avalokitesvara Current and Past Exhibitions
Radiating Avalokitesvara KhmerAngkor period, Bayon style, Late 12th/ Early 13th centuryH. 110 cm, 43 ½ ins.A monumental sandstone figure of an eight-armed radiating Avalokitesvara, muscular and powerful, the hair, upper torso and arms covered in minute representations of the Buddha and with seated figures of Prajnaparamita (the Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom) on the chest, stomach and lower back; the face beatific beneath a raised chignon bearing a seated figure of Amitabha, wearing a short pleated sampot with a broad fishtail at the front.These images are believed to represent the Khmer ruler Jayavarman VII. There are celebrated examples of this type in both the Bangkok National Museum and the Musée Guimet, with only one other large version appearing in the art market in recent years [see M. Lerner, Ancient Khmer Sculpture, Chinese Porcelain Company exhibition catalogue, New York, 1994]. According to Lerner (ibid.), there are fewer than a dozen known examples of this type.
|  Pink sandstone figure of a recumbent Nandi Bull Current and Past Exhibitions
16. Rare and important pink sandstone figure of arecumbent Nandi Bull.Vietnam, Cham period, circa 9th century.L. 56 cms, 22 ins.Provenance: Private English Collection. Purchased from Spink and Son Ltd in 1996. Published as no. 51 in Spink catalogue, Legacies of Ancient Civilisations: A Selection of Indian and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 1996. Reference: Fig. 210 in E. Guillon, Cham Art: Treasures from the Da Nang Museum, Vietnam. Bangkok: River Books, 2001.
|  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.
|  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.
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