A PAIR OF UNUSUAL BURMESE LACQUER GILT WOOD STUPAS WITH BRONZE FINIALS, 18TH-19TH CENTURY

A PAIR OF UNUSUAL BURMESE LACQUER GILT WOOD STUPAS WITH BRONZE FINIALS, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005:
“No. 299, FH 1991, Pair of Burmese gilded wood stupas 18th-19th c.”
Gallery price: EUR 730 or approx.

EUR 1,200 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.

Myanmar. Each boldly carved and lacquered, of conical form, composed of a characteristic tiered section of graduated proportions, rising to a slender upper portion terminating in an aperture which bears its original and removable bronze finial, decorated with stylized foliate motifs in openwork.

Provenance: Freddy Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by 1991. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 35 years.

Freddy Hansen was a Danish dealer of Asian art and antiquities, particularly Buddhist sculpture. Based in Copenhagen, he was active from the 1950s onward and became one of Denmark's most prominent dealers in Asian art before his retirement in the early 1990s.

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: Good condition with expected wear, rubbing and flaking to lacquer, and scattered notches.

Weight: 579.2 and 724.5 g
Dimensions: Height 35.4 cm (each)

Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze bell-shaped stupa, Burma, c. 12th century, 8.5 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1987.407.5. Compare a related gilt-lacquer brass stupa, Thailand, 16th century or later, 78.7 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1957,1014.1.a-b.

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