A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF CHUNDA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH-10TH CENTURY
A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF CHUNDA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH-10TH CENTURY
Indonesia. Finely cast, the four-armed goddess seated in dhyanasana atop a double-lotus base raised on a rectangular plinth. Her primary hands rest in dhyanamudra in her lap, supporting a small ritual bowl, while the secondary hands are raised, the right holding a rosary. A lotus stem rises alongside her left shoulder, terminating in an elongated bud. The deity dressed in a diaphanous dhoti and richly adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and pendant earrings.The sensitively modeled face bears a serene expression, with almond-shaped eyes beneath gently arched brows, a broad nose, and full lips. Her hair is arranged in a tall chignon behind an elaborate foliate tiara. The figure is backed by a flaming aureole which is surmounted by a tiered chattra (ceremonial parasol).Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom.Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear and casting irregularities, signs of weathering and corrosion, encrustations, the aureole and parasol with slight warping, the latter with two small repairs. Small chips to the edge of the base and a dented loss to the back. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with attractive malachite and azurite encrustations.Weight: 603 gDimensions: Height 15.5 cmChunda—more commonly Cundā or Cundī—is a female Buddhist deity, particularly associated with Mahayana and Esoteric Buddhism. She is sometimes understood as a manifestation of Prajnaparamita or related to the broader group of female Buddhist deities surrounding Avalokiteshvara. In Indonesian Buddhist art she is particularly relevant because Chunda was worshipped in the Buddhist milieu of Java and the wider Srivijaya world.The identification of the present figure as Chunda is supported by the distinctive arrangement of her four arms and attributes. Her primary hands are joined in dhyanamudra and support a small ritual bowl, while the secondary right hand holds a rosary. A closely related iconographic scheme occurs on the exterior of Candi Mendut in Central Java, where the French Indologist and Buddhist art historian Alfred Foucher identified a four-armed female deity as Chunda, noting that the meditative position of the principal hands distinguishes her from both Prajnaparamita, whose hands would normally perform the teaching gesture, and four-armed Tara, whose principal right hand would conventionally be lowered in varada mudra. See Alfred Foucher, “Notes d’archéologie bouddhique”, Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient, vol. IX, 1909, p. 47.Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of the four-armed Chunda, Central Java, dated 9th-10th century, 10.6 cm high, in the Art Institute of Chicago, reference number 1977.153. Compare a closely related bronze figure of the four-armed Chunda, Central Java, dated 9th-10th century, 11 cm high, in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Compare a closely related bronze figure of Tara, Java, dated to the late 9th -10th century, also 15.5 cm high, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number O24759.Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 12 December 2025, lot 3 Price: EUR 10,160 or approx. EUR 10,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of Padmapani, Java, 10th century Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of casting, particularly the compact proportions, finely rendered jewelry, lotus pedestal, tall rectangular plinth, and flaming aureole. Note the size (12.2 cm).
A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF CHUNDA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH-10TH CENTURY
Indonesia. Finely cast, the four-armed goddess seated in dhyanasana atop a double-lotus base raised on a rectangular plinth. Her primary hands rest in dhyanamudra in her lap, supporting a small ritual bowl, while the secondary hands are raised, the right holding a rosary. A lotus stem rises alongside her left shoulder, terminating in an elongated bud. The deity dressed in a diaphanous dhoti and richly adorned with necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and pendant earrings.The sensitively modeled face bears a serene expression, with almond-shaped eyes beneath gently arched brows, a broad nose, and full lips. Her hair is arranged in a tall chignon behind an elaborate foliate tiara. The figure is backed by a flaming aureole which is surmounted by a tiered chattra (ceremonial parasol).Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom.Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear and casting irregularities, signs of weathering and corrosion, encrustations, the aureole and parasol with slight warping, the latter with two small repairs. Small chips to the edge of the base and a dented loss to the back. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with attractive malachite and azurite encrustations.Weight: 603 gDimensions: Height 15.5 cmChunda—more commonly Cundā or Cundī—is a female Buddhist deity, particularly associated with Mahayana and Esoteric Buddhism. She is sometimes understood as a manifestation of Prajnaparamita or related to the broader group of female Buddhist deities surrounding Avalokiteshvara. In Indonesian Buddhist art she is particularly relevant because Chunda was worshipped in the Buddhist milieu of Java and the wider Srivijaya world.The identification of the present figure as Chunda is supported by the distinctive arrangement of her four arms and attributes. Her primary hands are joined in dhyanamudra and support a small ritual bowl, while the secondary right hand holds a rosary. A closely related iconographic scheme occurs on the exterior of Candi Mendut in Central Java, where the French Indologist and Buddhist art historian Alfred Foucher identified a four-armed female deity as Chunda, noting that the meditative position of the principal hands distinguishes her from both Prajnaparamita, whose hands would normally perform the teaching gesture, and four-armed Tara, whose principal right hand would conventionally be lowered in varada mudra. See Alfred Foucher, “Notes d’archéologie bouddhique”, Bulletin de l’École française d’Extrême-Orient, vol. IX, 1909, p. 47.Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of the four-armed Chunda, Central Java, dated 9th-10th century, 10.6 cm high, in the Art Institute of Chicago, reference number 1977.153. Compare a closely related bronze figure of the four-armed Chunda, Central Java, dated 9th-10th century, 11 cm high, in the Ethnological Museum of Berlin. Compare a closely related bronze figure of Tara, Java, dated to the late 9th -10th century, also 15.5 cm high, in the Victoria & Albert Museum, accession number O24759.Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 12 December 2025, lot 3 Price: EUR 10,160 or approx. EUR 10,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of Padmapani, Java, 10th century Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of casting, particularly the compact proportions, finely rendered jewelry, lotus pedestal, tall rectangular plinth, and flaming aureole. Note the size (12.2 cm).
