A RARE AND MONUMENTAL (2 M) GILT-LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF BUDDHA, 2ND AVA PERIOD, 16TH-18TH CENTURY

A RARE AND MONUMENTAL (2 M) GILT-LACQUERED WOOD FIGURE OF BUDDHA, 2ND AVA PERIOD, 16TH-18TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

Burma. Carved standing, dressed in a long robe, tied around the waist with a central fold decorated with foliate scrollwork, the left holding seeds and the right in abhaya mudra. He is dressed in a loose-fitting monastic robe cascading in richly carved folds, the hems neatly inlaid with glass. The face in a serene expression with glass-inlaid almond-shaped eyes, bow-shaped brows, and full lips forming a calm smile, the smooth hair with ushnisha and a tall bud-shaped finial behind a meticulously glass-inlaid crown.

Provenance: Collection of Robert Jacobsen, Denmark. Bruun Rasmussen, Copenhagen, by repute in 2010. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for around 16 years.

Robert Jacobsen (1912-1993) was one of the foremost Danish artists of the twentieth century, internationally renowned for his abstract iron sculptures. Largely self-taught, he achieved worldwide recognition and is represented in major museum collections including the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, and the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Over the course of his career, he assembled a diverse collection of Asian art, including Japanese netsuke, which reflected his lifelong interest in form, craftsmanship, and sculptural expression.

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 old wear, expected age cracks, signs of weathering, few tiny nicks, light scratches, few small losses, old repairs and fills. Light flaking, rubbing, and losses to gilt and lacquer. Minor losses to inlays with some possibly renewed. Presenting magnificently.

Weight: 98 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 201.5 cm (excl. stand), 213 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated hardwood stand. (2)

In this period the Shan and Myanmar styles integrate into this second Ava style, where the face is rounder with a pointed chin and a small but distinctive mouth, with a clear cleft above the upper lip. The nose is straight with flaring nostrils, the eyebrows curved, the eyes gaze downwards

Ava, also known as Innwa or Ratanapura (City of Gems), is a historically significant city located on the banks of the Ayeyarwady River, approximately 15 kilometers south of Mandalay. Founded in 1364 by King Thado Minpya at the age of nineteen, Ava served as the capital of Burma for several centuries. The city's artistic output, particularly its production of Buddha statues, reflects a rich cultural heritage and the integration of spiritual devotion with sculptural excellence characteristic of the era.

In 1555, King Bayinnaung dislodged Shan King Sithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan States under his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those in Kachin and Shan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan States, Mohnyin and Mogaung. The Shan States were reduced to the status of governorships, but the Saophas (rulers) were permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their fathers and to receive training in Burmese court life. Burmese kings continued this policy until 1885, when the Kingdom fell to the British. In the mid-18th century, the Burmese Konbaung dynasty's reassertion of the easternmost boundaries of Burmese Shan States led to war with China, following which eight of the Chinese Shan States were briefly occupied by the Kingdom of Burma. The Burmese success in repelling Chinese forces laid the foundation for the present-day boundary between Burma and China.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related smaller Burmese gilt-lacquered wood figure of Buddha with glass inlays, dated 18th century, 101 cm tall, in the British Museum, registration number 1880.258. Compare a related gilt-lacquered wood figure of Buddha, dated 18th century, 213 cm tall, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number IM.19-1912.

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