 BRONZE KETTLE DRUM Current and Past Exhibitions
No. 1.BRONZE KETTLE DRUM.NORTHERN VIETNAM.DONG SON CULTURE.3RD CENTURY BC – 1ST CENTURY AD.H. 65 CMS, 25 ½ INS.D. (AT SHOULDER) 86 CMS, 34 INS.D. (Tympanum) 78 CMS, 30 ¾ INS. A large and exceptionally rare bronze kettle-drum, cast by the lost-wax method, with a deep green patina, the shoulder and main body with a series of vertical and horizontal bands of dash lines, saw-teeth and linked circles, decorated with fish, birds and scenes of feather men in boats and wielding spears and shields; the tympanum with similar geometric bands surrounding a twelve-point star and interspersed with multiple aquatic birds, round and flat roofed houses, pairs of standing figures pounding rice, platforms containing drummers beating time with sticks and parading musicians, the sides with two pairs of double ‘rope’ handles. This spectacular drum is a veritable tour de force of bronze casting. Among its many remarkable features is the presence of drummers beating kettle drums with long poles, an important clue to the function of these objects and to the method by which they were played. Dong Son drums, also known as Heger Type I drums, are mainly attributed to the Dong Son culture, centred on the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. They were produced from around 600 BC until the third century AD and have been found across a vast area of Southeast Asia from Vietnam and Southern China to eastern Indonesia. There has been much speculation as to whether the drums were made for religious ceremonies such as harvest rituals or burials, served to rally men for war, or if they had a more secular role. In folk lore they are known as ‘rain drums’ and played to summon rain or to placate storms.One of the most celebrated examples of Dong Son drums is named Hoàng Ha (after the village in which it was discovered) and closely resembles this example – see p. 121 in Ha Thuc Can, The Bronze Dong Son Drums, Singapore and Hong Kong, 1989. This drum is also illustrated as plate 11.20b in A. J. Bernet Kempers, The Kettledrums of Southeast Asia: A Bronze Age World and Its Aftermath, Rotterdam and Brookfield: A.A. Balkema, 1988 and on pp. 6-7 in Pham Huy Thong et al, Dong Son Drums in Vietnam, Social Science Publishing House, 1990.
|  3. SANDSTONE FIGURE OF VISHNU Current and Past Exhibitions
3. SANDSTONE FIGURE OF VISHNU.KHMER, PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD,7TH - 8TH CENTURY.H. (EXCLUDING TANG): 67 CMS, 26 ½ INS.H. (INCLUDING TANG): 84 CMS, 33 INS .An important sandstone figure of a four-armed Vishnu, dynamic and powerful, standing on a rectangular pedestal and wearing a cylindrical mitre headdress; the face meditative and smiling serenely; the contours of his lower body visible beneath a diaphanous ankle-length sampot, its folds delineated by faintly incised lines, with a long central sash hanging down between his legs.Note: The ankles are repaired.Vishnu, together with Brahma and Siva, is one of the members of the Hindu trimurti (Skt. “Triple Form”). Vishnu becomes incarnate in different divine forms (avatars) from age to age in order to preserve the world.For a related image, attributed to the Mekong Delta, see plate 10 in Emma Bunker and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago: Art Media Resources, 2004.PROVENANCE: 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.
|  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.
|  BRONZE HANGING LAMP Current and Past Exhibitions
No. 2.BRONZE HANGING LAMP.NORTHERN VIETNAM.DONG SON CULTURE.1ST - 2ND CENTURY AD.H. 21.5 CMS, 8 ½ INS .L. 25.5 CMS, 10 INS.An exceptionally rare and important bronze lamp comprising a semi-naked human figure with arms outstretched and holding a straight sided bowl (the receptacle for the oil and wick), suspended by three chains from a domed cover surmounted by a phoenix, all supported by a single chain ending in an S shaped suspension hook.For more on the Dong Son culture see cat. no. 1.The two front chains that support this lamp are shorter than the rear one and, when suspended, the figure inclines downwards. This detail, together with the movement of the legs, suggests that the figure is depicted flying down from the after-world to rescue the human soul. Examples of such lamps are few and far between – two of the best-known are the celebrated kneeling lamp-bearer of Lach Truong (see no. 4, Page 18 in Phan Cam Thuong, Ancient Sculpture of Vietnam, Fine Arts Publishing House, 1997) and a strikingly similar, Han dynasty example found in Changsha, Hunan, China (see fig. 98 in Jonathan Tucker, The Silk Road: Art and History, London: Philip Wilson Publishers, 2003). A third lamp was previously offered for sale at Spink and Son Ltd and is now in a private collection - see fig. 99 in Jonathan Tucker, ibid. This lamp is also illustrated as fig. 2 in Pratapaditya Pal, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 3: Art from Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, 2004. The similarities between these lamps suggest that during the Chinese occupation of the area the process of cultural exchange was both continuous and widespread. PROVENANCE: Private English collection.
|  SANDSTONE HEAD OF VISHNU Current and Past Exhibitions
Catalogue no. 25.SANDSTONE HEAD OF VISHNU.KHMER.PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD.7TH - 8TH CENTURY.H. 20 CMS, 8 ½ INS.An exceptional grey sandstone head of a male deity, probably Vishnu, with an enigmatic smile; wearing large earrings and a tall, slightly tapering mitre headdress. Vishnu, together with Brahma and Siva, is one of the members of the Hindu trimurti (Skt. ‘Triple Form’). Vishnu becomes incarnate in different divine forms (avatars) from age to age in order to preserve the world.This style of Pre-Khmer sculpture used to be referred to as Prasat Andet. For a related image in the Cleveland Museum of Art, see plate 14 in Emma Bunker and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago: Art Media Resources, 2004. See also plate 19 in M. Giteau, Khmer Sculpture and the Angkor Civilisation. London: Thames and Hudson, 1965. PROVENANCE: Private English collection. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.
|  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.
|  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.
|  Bronze Buddhist trinity
A small bronze Buddhist trinity.H. 12cm (17 cm including base), 4 ¾ ins (6 ¾ ins including base).Khmer, Bayon style, late 12th/early 13th century
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