A VERY LARGE ROSE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, MON-DVARAVATI PERIOD, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
A VERY LARGE ROSE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, MON-DVARAVATI PERIOD, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005:
“No. 187, LA 1967, A. Maynard, Thai/Pre-Khmer (Prakhon Chai area) Mon style 8th-9th c. standing Buddha, pink sandstone.”
Gallery price: EUR 315,000 or approx.
EUR 526,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
The ledger establishes that this object was located in Europe before the UNESCO 1970 Convention entered into force.
Thailand. Sensitively carved, depicted standing firmly in samabhanga on a lotus pedestal, with both hands raised in vitarka mudra, the palms incised with stylized dharmachakra motifs. The figure clad in a diaphanous dhoti with an elegant waistline, its long, flowing sleeves falling in soft folds from the outstretched arms, gracefully framing the well-defined body. The face, bearing a benevolent expression, is distinguished by heavy-lidded, downcast eyes beneath gently arched brows, a prominent nose, and full lips forming a calm, composed smile, all flanked by long, pendulous earlobes. The hair is meticulously arranged in large, tightly coiled snail-shell curls rising over a prominently domed ushnisha.
Provenance: Adrian Maynard, London, by 1967. 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.
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: Good condition with old wear, traces of weathering and erosion, small losses and occasional smoothed chips, few minor old repairs and small fills. The stone with a fine, naturally grown patina.
Weight: 91.5 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 131.4 cm (incl. tang, excl. stand), 139.8 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated modern stand. (2)
Expert's note: Considerable innovations in religious iconography were developed during the Mon-Dvaravati period. For example, many Buddhas hold both of their hands in a gesture of exposition or teaching (vitarka mudra) that in India is confined to the right hand. Images from the related site of Prakhon Chai also exhibit this double hand gesture, but otherwise it is unknown in the Buddhist world.
In the early seventh century, a new Buddha type emerged in Southeast Asia, inspired by artistic innovations then developing in northern India. The principal source of these developments was the important monastic center of Sarnath, whose workshops undoubtedly supplied Buddha images to a wide range of patrons, including itinerant monks who likely acquired small, portable images, often, it may be surmised, carved in wood, for transport to their homelands. The surrounding geography, however, made travel through the territories occupied by Mon communities in present-day Thailand particularly difficult. This contributed to a degree of isolation among the small polities that inhabited the region and, in turn, fostered the emergence of a highly refined and distinctive Mon-Dvaravati style.
While there is great variation within the Mon-Dvaravati tradition, the sensitivity paid to the modeling of these facial features is in keeping with the period's focus on the purity and fluidity of form. As expressed by Jean Boisselier in The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, 1975, page 73, “The school of Dvaravati may stand alongside the great Buddhist artistic traditions of India, so enduring were its innovations and so persuasive its influence on most of the art of Southeast Asia.”
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone figure of a standing Buddha, Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati period, 7th-8th century, 81.6 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1982.220.6.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1100
Price: USD 68,750 or approx.
EUR 84,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A sandstone figure depicting Buddha, Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati period, 7th-9th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and stone, with similar treatment of the hair and body-defining drapery.
Buyer's Premium
30%
A VERY LARGE ROSE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, MON-DVARAVATI PERIOD, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve
The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005:
“No. 187, LA 1967, A. Maynard, Thai/Pre-Khmer (Prakhon Chai area) Mon style 8th-9th c. standing Buddha, pink sandstone.”
Gallery price: EUR 315,000 or approx.
EUR 526,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing.
The ledger establishes that this object was located in Europe before the UNESCO 1970 Convention entered into force.
Thailand. Sensitively carved, depicted standing firmly in samabhanga on a lotus pedestal, with both hands raised in vitarka mudra, the palms incised with stylized dharmachakra motifs. The figure clad in a diaphanous dhoti with an elegant waistline, its long, flowing sleeves falling in soft folds from the outstretched arms, gracefully framing the well-defined body. The face, bearing a benevolent expression, is distinguished by heavy-lidded, downcast eyes beneath gently arched brows, a prominent nose, and full lips forming a calm, composed smile, all flanked by long, pendulous earlobes. The hair is meticulously arranged in large, tightly coiled snail-shell curls rising over a prominently domed ushnisha.
Provenance: Adrian Maynard, London, by 1967. 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.
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: Good condition with old wear, traces of weathering and erosion, small losses and occasional smoothed chips, few minor old repairs and small fills. The stone with a fine, naturally grown patina.
Weight: 91.5 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 131.4 cm (incl. tang, excl. stand), 139.8 cm (incl. stand)
With an associated modern stand. (2)
Expert's note: Considerable innovations in religious iconography were developed during the Mon-Dvaravati period. For example, many Buddhas hold both of their hands in a gesture of exposition or teaching (vitarka mudra) that in India is confined to the right hand. Images from the related site of Prakhon Chai also exhibit this double hand gesture, but otherwise it is unknown in the Buddhist world.
In the early seventh century, a new Buddha type emerged in Southeast Asia, inspired by artistic innovations then developing in northern India. The principal source of these developments was the important monastic center of Sarnath, whose workshops undoubtedly supplied Buddha images to a wide range of patrons, including itinerant monks who likely acquired small, portable images, often, it may be surmised, carved in wood, for transport to their homelands. The surrounding geography, however, made travel through the territories occupied by Mon communities in present-day Thailand particularly difficult. This contributed to a degree of isolation among the small polities that inhabited the region and, in turn, fostered the emergence of a highly refined and distinctive Mon-Dvaravati style.
While there is great variation within the Mon-Dvaravati tradition, the sensitivity paid to the modeling of these facial features is in keeping with the period's focus on the purity and fluidity of form. As expressed by Jean Boisselier in The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, 1975, page 73, “The school of Dvaravati may stand alongside the great Buddhist artistic traditions of India, so enduring were its innovations and so persuasive its influence on most of the art of Southeast Asia.”
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone figure of a standing Buddha, Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati period, 7th-8th century, 81.6 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1982.220.6.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1100
Price: USD 68,750 or approx.
EUR 84,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A sandstone figure depicting Buddha, Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati period, 7th-9th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and stone, with similar treatment of the hair and body-defining drapery.
Buyer's Premium
30%
