AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF A YAKSHINI, KOH KER STYLE, ANGKOR PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY

AN EXCEEDINGLY RARE SANDSTONE FIGURE OF A YAKSHINI, KOH KER STYLE, ANGKOR PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY
This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve

The Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger, entry from 2005:
“No. 331, LA 1970, A. Maynard, Khmer Koh Ker Devata 10th c.”
Gallery price: EUR 115,000 or approx.

EUR 192,000 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.

Khmer Empire. Finely modeled in the round, the figure presents a face of wrathful expression, marked by large bulging eyes with neatly incised pupils, thick brows curling towards a foliate emblem at the center of the forehead, a broad nose, the mouth slightly agape revealing teeth and fangs, and the head surmounted by an elaborate foliate crown. She wears a sampot secured at waist, with part of the fabric gracefully overlapping at the front, and the pleating is rendered with meticulous attention to detail.

Provenance: Adrian Maynard, London, by 1970. 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 expected wear, obvious losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, an old repair at the neck, minor nicks, smoothed chips.

Weight: 57.3 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 99 cm (excl. stand), 103 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated modern stand. (2)

Koh Ker, which lies 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Angkor, was the capital of the Khmer Empire from 928-944. Koh Ker's sculptural style is thus distinct from those developed in Angkor's immediate vicinity. The stone sculpture, often monumental in size, is imbued with a heightened sense of movement and a suppleness of form.

The yakshinis (female) and yakshas (male) are a broad class of nature-spirits, usually benevolent, but sometimes mischievous or capricious, connected with water, fertility, trees, the forest, treasure and wilderness. They appear in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, as well as in ancient and medieval era temples of South and Southeast Asia as guardian deities. The yakshas have a dual personality: On the one hand, they may be inoffensive nature-fairies, associated with woods and mountains, but there is also a darker version of them, which is a kind of a ghost that haunts the wilderness and devours travelers. Kubera, the god of wealth and prosperity, is considered the king of the yakshas. Guardian figures such as the present lot were placed aside of gateways, steps, and entrances of sacred areas like temples.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related sandstone torso of a yakshini, alternatively identified as the goddess Kali, found in 1923 at Prasat Kraham, Prasat Thom, Koh Ker, dated first half of the 10th century, the upper torso 67 cm high, now in the National Museum of Cambodia, inventory number Ka.1665. Compare a closely related Koh Ker sandstone head of a yaksha, 40.5 cm high, in the collection of the National Museum of Cambodia, inventory number Ka.1666.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 390
Price: EUR 97,000 or approx.

EUR 124,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine sandstone figure of a female deity, Cambodia, Khmer, Koh Ker style, mid-10th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of carving, and stone. Note the size (84 cm) and different subject.

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