A BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH A FLAMING AUREOLE, SHAILENDRA PERIOD, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURY, EX ROBERT ROUSSET
A BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH A FLAMING AUREOLE, SHAILENDRA PERIOD, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURY, EX ROBERT ROUSSET
Indonesia. Finely cast, seated in vajraparyankasana on a double-lotus base raised on a stepped plinth, centered by a dharmachakra and flanked by foliage at the corners. The right hand is held before the chest in karana mudra, while the left rests above the lap in dhyana mudra, supporting a small jewel (cintamani).He is dressed in a diaphanous sanghati covering the left shoulder and crossing the chest diagonally, leaving the right shoulder and arm bare. The serene face is modeled with downcast eyes beneath elegantly arched brows, a raised urna, and subtly smiling lips, flanked by ears with pendulous lobes. The hair is arranged in tight snail-shell curls covering the domed ushnisha, all backed by a partially reticulated flaming aureole.Provenance: The private collection of Robert Rousset, Paris, and thence by descent. Antichità La Balaustra, Bologna, Italy, by 1996, acquired from the above. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above, and thence by descent to his son Enrico Bertuzzi. A copy of a stamped certificate written by Giuliana Zanetti of Antichità La Balaustra, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, dated 21 October 1996, with a dating to “Shailendra period, Central Java, 9th–10th century” and confirming the provenance above, accompanies this lot. Robert Rousset (1901-1982) was a former French radio officer in the merchant navy, who became one of the most prominent pioneers of the Chinese art market in Paris. As a child, his father, an insurance agent, would take him to Hôtel Drouot where he started to buy at a very young age. His true passion for Asian art started in the 1920s, when he was sent on a mission to Beijing after the decline of the Qing empire, along with Osvald Sirén, the famous Swedish Asian art historian and connoisseur. He then became one of the main contributors of Chinese antiques for the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, founded in Paris in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers. After the 1929 stock market crash, he had the opportunity to acquire the company. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, they developed the business and became one of the most important dealers in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Musée Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Condition: Very good condition with expected wear and casting irregularities, slight rubbing, signs of weathering and corrosion, and numerous soil encrustations. A small loss to the top of the aureole. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with fine malachite encrustations.Weight: 391 gDimensions: Height 10.8 cmExpert’s note: The Shailendras were a powerful Buddhist dynasty that flourished in Central Java during the 8th and 9th centuries. Closely connected with the wider Buddhist and maritime networks of the Srivijaya sphere, they were among the foremost patrons of Mahayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia and presided over one of the great periods of Javanese Buddhist art and architecture, culminating in monuments such as Borobudur.Literature comparison:Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Buddha, Java, dated to the 9th century, 19 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1859,1228.41. Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Buddha Vairocana, dated to the Central Javanese Period, ca. late 9th century, 19.4 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object number 1987.142.23.Auction result comparison:Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Paris, 10 December 2014, lot 350 Price: EUR 20,000 or approx. EUR 26,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of the cosmic Buddha Amoghasiddi, Indonesia, East Java, 11th century Expert remark: Compare the closely related
A BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA WITH A FLAMING AUREOLE, SHAILENDRA PERIOD, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURY, EX ROBERT ROUSSET
Indonesia. Finely cast, seated in vajraparyankasana on a double-lotus base raised on a stepped plinth, centered by a dharmachakra and flanked by foliage at the corners. The right hand is held before the chest in karana mudra, while the left rests above the lap in dhyana mudra, supporting a small jewel (cintamani).He is dressed in a diaphanous sanghati covering the left shoulder and crossing the chest diagonally, leaving the right shoulder and arm bare. The serene face is modeled with downcast eyes beneath elegantly arched brows, a raised urna, and subtly smiling lips, flanked by ears with pendulous lobes. The hair is arranged in tight snail-shell curls covering the domed ushnisha, all backed by a partially reticulated flaming aureole.Provenance: The private collection of Robert Rousset, Paris, and thence by descent. Antichità La Balaustra, Bologna, Italy, by 1996, acquired from the above. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above, and thence by descent to his son Enrico Bertuzzi. A copy of a stamped certificate written by Giuliana Zanetti of Antichità La Balaustra, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, dated 21 October 1996, with a dating to “Shailendra period, Central Java, 9th–10th century” and confirming the provenance above, accompanies this lot. Robert Rousset (1901-1982) was a former French radio officer in the merchant navy, who became one of the most prominent pioneers of the Chinese art market in Paris. As a child, his father, an insurance agent, would take him to Hôtel Drouot where he started to buy at a very young age. His true passion for Asian art started in the 1920s, when he was sent on a mission to Beijing after the decline of the Qing empire, along with Osvald Sirén, the famous Swedish Asian art historian and connoisseur. He then became one of the main contributors of Chinese antiques for the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, founded in Paris in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers. After the 1929 stock market crash, he had the opportunity to acquire the company. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, they developed the business and became one of the most important dealers in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Musée Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Condition: Very good condition with expected wear and casting irregularities, slight rubbing, signs of weathering and corrosion, and numerous soil encrustations. A small loss to the top of the aureole. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with fine malachite encrustations.Weight: 391 gDimensions: Height 10.8 cmExpert’s note: The Shailendras were a powerful Buddhist dynasty that flourished in Central Java during the 8th and 9th centuries. Closely connected with the wider Buddhist and maritime networks of the Srivijaya sphere, they were among the foremost patrons of Mahayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia and presided over one of the great periods of Javanese Buddhist art and architecture, culminating in monuments such as Borobudur.Literature comparison:Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Buddha, Java, dated to the 9th century, 19 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1859,1228.41. Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Buddha Vairocana, dated to the Central Javanese Period, ca. late 9th century, 19.4 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, object number 1987.142.23.Auction result comparison:Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s Paris, 10 December 2014, lot 350 Price: EUR 20,000 or approx. EUR 26,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of the cosmic Buddha Amoghasiddi, Indonesia, East Java, 11th century Expert remark: Compare the closely related
