A LACQUER-GILT WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAI
A LACQUER-GILT KAMAKURA WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAI
Japan, 13th-14th century, Kamakura period (1185-1333)
The Buddha standing on a separately carved lotus dais fitted to an elaborately carved octagonal stepped throne with reticulated lotus designs alternating with naturalist lotus leaves and petal lappets, further with gilt-metal fittings neatly chased and punched with floral decoration. His raised right and lowered left hand are held in raigou-in mudra, welcoming the dead into his Pure Land. He is wearing a loose-fitting robe cascading in voluminous folds and opening at the chest. His serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by a glass or rock crystal byakugo (urna), a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by long pendulous pierced earlobes. The hair arranged in tight curls and surmounted by an ushnisha with a further glass or rock crystal inlay. The separately carved kohai (aureole) with swirling clouds and a central stylized floral-sun design.
HEIGHT 32.8 cm (the figure) and 66.2 cm (total)
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. The figure with extensive wear to gilt, few small nicks, a minor loss to one ear. The aureole with light scratches and natural age cracks. The lotus dais and stepped throne with small losses, minor chips. Possibly small old repairs and minor touchups.
Provenance: Christian Magnier, Japon Antique, Paris, 17 June 2008. Jane and Robert Coppenrath, acquired from the above. A copy of a handwritten expertise, signed by Christian Magnier, dated 17 June 2008, dating the base c. 1800 and the figure - very conservatively - to the 17th century, accompanies this lot. Jane (d. 2020) and Robert Coppenrath (d. 2017) were collectors of Japanese, African, and Inuit art based in Montreal. Jane, a native of the United Kingdom, and Robert, a native of France, began their careers in Canada in the early 1970s. Robert owned an antiques shop while Jane worked in an art gallery. They were avid travelers and adventurers, with visits to antique shops in Brussels, art galleries in Paris and Berlin, and antique vendors in Bombay, Bangkok, and Tokyo, among others.
Auction comparison:
Compare to a closely related figure of Amida, of slightly smaller size and lacking the base and aureole, also dated to the Kamakura period, sold in these rooms, Fine Japanese Art, 4 June 2021, Vienna, lot 125 (sold for 10,112 EUR). Compare a closely related but slightly larger standing wood figure of Amida Nyorai, also dated to the Kamakura period, 14th century, at Sotheby's, Two Americans in Paris, The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, 4 November 2021, London, lot 373 (estimate of 15,000-20,000 GBP).
Sale price
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A LACQUER-GILT KAMAKURA WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAI
Japan, 13th-14th century, Kamakura period (1185-1333)
The Buddha standing on a separately carved lotus dais fitted to an elaborately carved octagonal stepped throne with reticulated lotus designs alternating with naturalist lotus leaves and petal lappets, further with gilt-metal fittings neatly chased and punched with floral decoration. His raised right and lowered left hand are held in raigou-in mudra, welcoming the dead into his Pure Land. He is wearing a loose-fitting robe cascading in voluminous folds and opening at the chest. His serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by a glass or rock crystal byakugo (urna), a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by long pendulous pierced earlobes. The hair arranged in tight curls and surmounted by an ushnisha with a further glass or rock crystal inlay. The separately carved kohai (aureole) with swirling clouds and a central stylized floral-sun design.
HEIGHT 32.8 cm (the figure) and 66.2 cm (total)
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. The figure with extensive wear to gilt, few small nicks, a minor loss to one ear. The aureole with light scratches and natural age cracks. The lotus dais and stepped throne with small losses, minor chips. Possibly small old repairs and minor touchups.
Provenance: Christian Magnier, Japon Antique, Paris, 17 June 2008. Jane and Robert Coppenrath, acquired from the above. A copy of a handwritten expertise, signed by Christian Magnier, dated 17 June 2008, dating the base c. 1800 and the figure - very conservatively - to the 17th century, accompanies this lot. Jane (d. 2020) and Robert Coppenrath (d. 2017) were collectors of Japanese, African, and Inuit art based in Montreal. Jane, a native of the United Kingdom, and Robert, a native of France, began their careers in Canada in the early 1970s. Robert owned an antiques shop while Jane worked in an art gallery. They were avid travelers and adventurers, with visits to antique shops in Brussels, art galleries in Paris and Berlin, and antique vendors in Bombay, Bangkok, and Tokyo, among others.
Auction comparison:
Compare to a closely related figure of Amida, of slightly smaller size and lacking the base and aureole, also dated to the Kamakura period, sold in these rooms, Fine Japanese Art, 4 June 2021, Vienna, lot 125 (sold for 10,112 EUR). Compare a closely related but slightly larger standing wood figure of Amida Nyorai, also dated to the Kamakura period, 14th century, at Sotheby's, Two Americans in Paris, The Collection of Sam and Myrna Myers, 4 November 2021, London, lot 373 (estimate of 15,000-20,000 GBP).
Sale price
Estimate
Time, Location
Auction House
