A RARE SANDSTONE SHIVA LINGA, SOUTHERN THAILAND, 7TH-8TH CENTURY
A RARE SANDSTONE SHIVA LINGA, SOUTHERN THAILAND, 7TH-8TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Expert's note: Thai sandstone linga from this period are extremely rare. The present example is particularly notable for the well-preserved and finely polished surface, smoothed through centuries of exposure to the elements.
Finely carved and smoothly polished as a phallic emblem, carefully detailed to emphasize the pronounced glans and its central vascular ridge, distinguished from the cylindrical shaft by a prominent encircling band in high relief.
Provenance: Freddy Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by 1979. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 47 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, signs of weathering and erosion, minor losses, chips, nicks, and scratches. The stone with a fine, naturally grown patina.
Weight: 38.6 kg
Dimensions: Height 38.3 cm
Shiva was worshipped in innumerable forms, both natural and man-made. Among the most widespread was the linga, a form that became especially prominent in mainland Southeast Asia from about the sixth century onward. As a phallic emblem, the linga symbolized divine generative power and regeneration. Forms of the linga ranged from naturally occurring river-worn stones (banalinga) to mountain peaks regarded as displaying a linga-like profile (lingaparvata).
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone Shiva linga, Southern Thailand, 7th-8th century, 31.8 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1992.150.3.
Buyer's Premium
30%
A RARE SANDSTONE SHIVA LINGA, SOUTHERN THAILAND, 7TH-8TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
Expert's note: Thai sandstone linga from this period are extremely rare. The present example is particularly notable for the well-preserved and finely polished surface, smoothed through centuries of exposure to the elements.
Finely carved and smoothly polished as a phallic emblem, carefully detailed to emphasize the pronounced glans and its central vascular ridge, distinguished from the cylindrical shaft by a prominent encircling band in high relief.
Provenance: Freddy Hansen, Copenhagen, Denmark, by 1979. Jorgen Ruben, acquired from the above. In the Jorgen Ruben Collection for 47 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, signs of weathering and erosion, minor losses, chips, nicks, and scratches. The stone with a fine, naturally grown patina.
Weight: 38.6 kg
Dimensions: Height 38.3 cm
Shiva was worshipped in innumerable forms, both natural and man-made. Among the most widespread was the linga, a form that became especially prominent in mainland Southeast Asia from about the sixth century onward. As a phallic emblem, the linga symbolized divine generative power and regeneration. Forms of the linga ranged from naturally occurring river-worn stones (banalinga) to mountain peaks regarded as displaying a linga-like profile (lingaparvata).
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone Shiva linga, Southern Thailand, 7th-8th century, 31.8 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1992.150.3.
Buyer's Premium
30%
