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2. TABERNACLE WITH SEATED BUDDHA Thailand, Lopburi Style 12th-13th c. bronze H. (OVERALL) 65 CMS, 25 ½ INS; W. (BOTTOM OF BASE) 23 CMS, 9 INS. |
TABERNACLE WITH SEATED BUDDHA THAILAND LOPBURI STYLE 12TH – 13TH CENTURY H. (OVERALL) 65 CMS, 25 ½ INS W. (BOTTOM OF BASE) 23 CMS, 9 INS. An exceptionally rare and important bronze tabernacle of four parts, containing a crowned and jewelled Buddha seated in bhumisparsimudra (the gesture of ‘summoning the earth to witness’) on a tall pedestal decorated with dancing apsaras and the demons of Mara’s army, wearing a three-piece monastic robe, elaborate crown, necklace and earrings once set with precious or semi-precious stones, the central figure enclosed by a naga arch and a flame-edged aureole; the entire ensemble surmounted by a stylised bodhi tree containing three further Buddhas and a circular boss representing the sun. This outstanding, elaborate image has a glossy, greenish-black patina and represents the final week of the Buddha’s fast as he overcomes Mara and attains enlightenment. During the early part of the 13th century the central Thai province of Lopburi shook off its domination by the Khmers and enjoyed a brief period as an independent kingdom. Works of art produced in Lopburi during the 12th to 13th century are heavily influenced by Khmer idioms and include a number of examples (such as this one), of crowned and jewelled Buddhas seated within tabernacles, or ‘jewelled houses’. After the founding of Ayutthaya in 1350 Lopburi succumbed rapidly to its more powerful neighbour and was incorporated into that kingdom. Large, complete tabernacles of this type rarely appear on the art market - the last that I am aware of was in 1998 - see Spink, The Lion of the Shakyas, cat. no. 6. For an almost identical example in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, see cat. no. 118, p. 108 in G. Kreisel, Linden-Museum Stuttgart: Südasien-Abteilung, Linden-Museum Stuttgart, 1987 (also published in Spink, Exhibition: Indian Influence on Art in South-East Asia, London, 1970). The L.A. County Museum of Art has a fine double-sided example – see no. 131 in P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, L.A. County Museum of Art, 1977. For two smaller, less elaborate examples see nos. 13 and 14 in P. Krairiksh, Khmer Bronzes: A Selection from the Suan Phka Tevoda Collection, Lugano, 1982. PROVENANCE: Private Asian collection. This Buddha has been owned and revered by the same family for more than 70 years. It was stolen in the late 1960s and, by the time the police recovered it a few days later, it had been resold twice! Detail: close-up |