A RARE AND LARGE LIMESTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA, MON-DVARAVATI PERIOD

A RARE AND LARGE LIMESTONE HEAD OF BUDDHA, MON-DVARAVATI PERIOD
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Expert's note: This magnificent head is

a very large example of its type, making it difficult to imagine the scale of the complete sculpture to which it once belonged, which would likely have been approximately 230 cm high based on the proportions of a related smaller (114.2 cm) Mon-Dvaravati figure of standing Buddha in the Cleveland Museum of Art, object number 1973.15). See also a closely related Dvaravati limestone figure of Buddha, Thailand, Wat Phra Men, Nakhon Pathom, 7th-8th century, ca. 375 cm high, in the National Museum, Bangkok, accession number 594/2509.

Thailand, 7th-8th century. Finely carved and sensitively modeled with a serene expression marked by neatly incised protruding eyes beneath expressive brows, his similarly outlined bow-shaped lips forming a benevolent smile, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair arranged in thick curls over the domed ushnisha.

Provenance: Adrian Maynard, London, by 1972. 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. The provenance establishes that this object was located in Europe before the UNESCO 1970 Convention entered into force.

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: Overall good condition with expected wear, obvious losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, small chips, nicks, scratches, structural fissures, the right cheek and ear with old repairs, minor old fills to the face.

Weight: 31.1 kg
Dimensions: Height 38.5 cm (excl. stand), 61 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated stand. (2)

The Mon polity of Dvaravati was one of the earliest and most important societies in mainland Southeast Asia. Based around the Chao Phraya and Mae Klang river basins of central Thailand, the Dvaravati polity was known from early Chinese textual sources, as well as being mentioned in a single local inscription that dates to roughly AD 550-650. Due to the large numbers of Buddhist sculptures associated with the culture, it is most likely that the rulers were patrons of the Buddhist faith.

Dvaravati images of Buddha are heavily influenced by contemporary Indian sculptural styles, including the Gupta style based around the site of Sarnath. The facial features of the Mon Dvaravati Buddhist images, however, display arched, joined eyebrows which are unlike those found in India, and which are therefore characteristic of the Mon Dvaravati style. Compared to earlier and later Thai kingdoms, Dvaravati was relatively geographically and economically isolated, which contributed to the distinct qualities of its sculpture, such as the aforementioned eyebrows, the broad, almost squared face, and the full, prominent lips. Additionally, the local stone was tough and difficult to work with, leading artists to prefer thick, strong features over softness and subtlety. Their style was bold, self-assured, recognizable, and highly influential on subsequent Thai sculpture and artistic production throughout Southeast Asia.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Mon-Dvaravati stone head of Buddha, Thailand, dated 7th-8th century, 35.6 cm tall, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2025.294. Compare a closely related limestone head of Buddha, dated to 8th-9th century, 33 cm high, in the British Museum, registration number 1963,1016.1.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 20 March 2024, lot 541
Price: USD 50,400 or approx.

EUR 47,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare stone head of Buddha, Thailand, Mon Dvaravati style, 8th-9th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving. Note the

smaller size (23.5 cm).

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