† AN IMPORTANT AND VERY LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, SRIVIJAYA KINGDOM, 8TH-9TH CENTURY

† AN IMPORTANT AND VERY LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, SRIVIJAYA KINGDOM, 8TH-9TH CENTURY

Expert's note:
The iconography of this Buddha was widespread in the late first millennium AD, favored in the Mon territories of Thailand (

fig. 1) and widely propagated in the Srivijaya regions of peninsular Thailand and Sumatra (

fig. 2). This aesthetic vocabulary, marked by a quiet spiritual introspection and fluid grace, was synthesized and reinterpreted in Central Java (

fig. 3) during the height of the Sailendra dynasty. Bronze Buddha images from Central Java, such as the present example, are celebrated for their harmonious proportions, smooth modeling, and understated spiritual presence. Rooted in Mon-Dvaravati prototypes and contemporaneous with Srivijayan devotional art, the style also draws upon influences from South Indian imagery (

fig. 4), particularly in the treatment of the robe and facial features.

Finely cast, the Buddha standing in a gently flexed pose, the right arm extended downward, while the left hand gathers the edge of the monastic robe. The slender, elegantly proportioned body is clad in a diaphanous uttarasanga draped over the left shoulder, closely following the contours of the torso before falling in broad, gently flaring folds to the ankles. The sensitively modeled face bears a serene meditative expression, with downcast almond-shaped eyes beneath gently arched brows, a slender nose, and full lips forming a subtle smile, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair is arranged in rows of tight curls rising to a tall conical ushnisha surmounted by a lotus bud form knop finial.

The bronze displays a rich, mottled dark brown and green patina with areas of malachite encrustation.

Provenance: From an important private collection in London, United Kingdom. Acquired c. 1985 in Asia.

Condition: Very good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, small nicks, signs of weathering, encrustations. The bronze covered in a rich, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustations.

Weight: 12.9 kg (incl. base)
Dimensions: Height 63.5 cm (excl. tangs), 71 cm (incl. tangs), Height 72 cm (incl. base)

With a fitted wood and metal base. (2)

The early Srivijaya Empire was a major center of Buddhist learning and practice. The Chinese monk Yijing, who visited Palembang in 671 CE, recorded the presence of more than a thousand monks devoted to the study of both Mahayana and Hinayana traditions. His account confirms Palembang's role as a vibrant hub of Buddhist scholarship and pilgrimage in the 7th century. By the 8th century, Srivijaya had extended its influence northward along the Malay Peninsula, establishing a presence at Ligor (present-day Nakhon Si Thammarat in southern Thailand). This expansion allowed Srivijaya to disseminate Buddhist teachings and institutions into the peninsula. Archaeological and inscriptional evidence from this period reveals that monasteries and Buddhist communities flourished, serving as both transit points for pilgrims en route to Nalanda in India and as local strongholds of Buddhist devotion fostered under Srivijayan patronage. In this cultural landscape, Buddhist sculptural traditions from Srivijaya in the south merged with the Mon-Dvaravati style of northern Thailand, and in some places with Khmer and Javanese influences,

creating a distinctive regional idiom. The present bronze Buddha is an exceptional result of this confluence, embodying the refined elegance of Dvaravati form and the maritime cosmopolitanism of Srivijaya.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related copper alloy figure of Buddha granting boons, with raised U-shaped folds, Western Indonesia, 8th century, 41 cm, exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia, 5th to 8th Century, 14 April-27 July 2014, cat. no. 52. Compare a related bronze figure of Buddha from Kalimantan, dated 7th-8th century, 26.7 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1993.64.

13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.

Buyer's Premium
30%