A LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, THAILAND, LOPBURI STYLE, 13TH CENTURY

A LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, THAILAND, LOPBURI STYLE, 13TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005:
“No. 174, LA 1970, Khmer Bayon Bronze Buddha 13th c.”
Gallery price: EUR 29,500 or approx.

EUR 49,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
The ledger establishes that this object was located in Europe before the UNESCO 1970 Convention entered into force.

Finely cast standing in samabhanga, the left hand raised in abhaya mudra, the gesture of reassurance and protection, with a circular dharmachakra incised in the palm, while the right arm extends gracefully alongside the body. The figure is clad in a diaphanous sanghati, secured at the waist, and falling in a gently undulating hemline with flaring sides. His serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes, elegantly arched brows, a slender nose, and full lips forming a calm smile, framed by long pendulous earlobes. The hair is arranged in tight spikes covering the prominent ushnisha, surmounted by a small flame finial.

Provenance: Adrian Maynard, London, by 1970. Collection of Leo Albrecht, Denmark, acquired from the above. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above before 2005. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for at least 21 years.

Adrian Maynard joined Spink & Sons in 1947, where he was appointed Director from 1962 and eventually Deputy Chairman until his retirement in 1984. He was a man of enormous drive and undoubtedly the most flamboyant character to take charge of the Asian art department, which he took to the height of its success. Maynard believed firmly that "a dealer, whose fortune and good name depends on knowing what to buy, has a much greater responsibility to be right about the objects that come into his hands than, say, an academic, who never handles large sums of money.”

Leo Albrecht was a German-born publisher and literary agent who established himself in Copenhagen after the Second World War. In 1951 he founded his agency, which played an important role in expanding the international market for Scandinavian literature. He began collecting art in the late 1950s, with a particular focus on Asian sculpture. In Copenhagen, he spent much of his time visiting antique dealers, museums, and exhibitions. He developed especially close ties with Ole Haslund, Lau Sunde, and Freddy Hansen, among the most prominent dealers in their fields. He also traveled frequently to London, where he became close friends with Adrian Maynard. Jorgen Ruben first met Albrecht in 1984, and they quickly became close friends. Ruben later described him as a gentleman and “the greatest collector of Asian art in Denmark.” He acquired Albrecht's entire Asian sculpture collection when Albrecht moved back to Germany after selling his publishing company. The two remained close, with Albrecht continuing to visit Denmark each summer and staying at the Ruben family's beach house north of Copenhagen.

Jorgen Ruben is a Danish art dealer and collector who has been active for over four decades and is highly regarded in the fields of Asian art and classical antiquities. Raised in an art-conscious family, Ruben was exposed early to both modern painting and European decorative arts. He began working in the art trade in the mid-1970s, first with Persian rugs and later with antiques, while travels to Iran and a visit to Persepolis sparked his lasting interest in antiquity. After studies in Copenhagen and London, he worked in England with a dealer in early furniture, before travelling widely in Latin America and Asia, deepening his knowledge of regional art and culture. In 1984 Ruben opened a gallery in Copenhagen dealing in Asian antiquities. He was later active in London and, in the early 2000s, operated the Brussels gallery Classic Art. Much of his career, however, has been conducted privately from home, selling by appointment to collectors, galleries, and museums. Ruben has always bought selectively, choosing only works that deeply engaged him, and often keeping them for many years until placing them with a collector he felt truly understood them.

Important Note: For essential information on the

Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger

Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, traces of weathering, a small loss to the pedestal, shallow fissures to the back, small nicks and surface scratches, remnants of old varnish. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown, mottled patina with areas of malachite encrustation.

Weight: 36.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 94.2 cm (excl. stand), 107.5 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated wood stand. (2)

The Khmer Empire exerted control over a vast region of present-day Thailand, strategically situated along key trade routes, from the mid-tenth to the thirteenth century. During this period of Khmer political and cultural influence, particularly in the Dvaravati region, with its administrative center at Lopburi, the art and architecture of the area were profoundly shaped by Khmer cultural and aesthetic norms. Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism both flourished at different times, often coexisting under Khmer rule. The associated monuments closely followed prevailing Khmer artistic conventions, as exemplified by Buddhist sanctuaries such as Prasat Phanom Phimai and Shaivite complexes like Prasat Phanom Rung.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's Amsterdam, 31 October 2000, lot 159
Price: NLG 49,198 or approx.

EUR 39,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Thai, Lopburi style, bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, 13th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of casting, and subject. Note the much smaller size (40.5 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams New York, 20 March 2018, lot 3217
Price: USD 62,500 or approx.

EUR 68,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy figure of Buddha, Central Thailand, Suphanburi, 13th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of casting, and subject. Note the much smaller size (55.1 cm).

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