A GILT-BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA, THAILAND, U-THONG STYLE B, 14TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A GILT-BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA, THAILAND, U-THONG STYLE B, 14TH CENTURY This lot is from a single owner collection and is therefore offered without reserve Finely cast and sensitively modeled, the serene face with a benevolent expression, detailed with a bow-shaped mouth set in a gentle smile, heavily lidded eyes, and a straight nose, all under arched brows. The hair is worked in tight curls over a tall flame-tipped ushnisha and pushed away from the forehead by a plain, curved headband. Important Note: For essential information on the Jorgen Ruben Gallery Ledger and provenance documentation please visit here: www.zacke.at/rubencollection_ledger Dimensions: Height 25 cm (excl. stand), 34.2 cm (incl. stand) With an associated stand. (2) The U-Thong Style, a term used to identify bronzes of three successive chronological groups (identified by the scholar, A.B. Griswold as Styles A, B and C) between the late twelfth and fifteenth centuries, exhibits a blend of Mon, Khmer and other Southeast Asian influences that were maintained from prior workshops in the region. Most U-Thong-style images were relatively small in scale, particularly those in the earlier styles. The designation of U-Thong is in itself somewhat obscure; although a Mon Dvaravati city-state of that name existed at the height of the Dvaravati period (from roughly the seventh to eleventh century), archaeological evidence suggests it was abandoned by the eleventh century. Instead, the appellation seems to have been in reference to King Ramathibodi, who founded the Ayutthaya kingdom in 1351 and who was also known as Prince U-Thong. Images of the Buddha designated as being in the U-Thong style thus refer to bronzes carried out in a distinct style developed prior to the founding of Ayutthaya, which continued and was synthesized with the mainstream Ayutthaya Buddhist art that flourished after its rise to power. Its earliest stylistic impulses were a sophisticated amalgamation of the other regional styles of the time, including the Khmericized Lopburi kingdom and the Khmer Empire itself to the east, the Mon Haripunjaya kingdom to the north, and the kingdoms of Burma to the west. The sculptures of the U-Thong style are most strikingly distinguished from other contemporaneous styles in the features of the face and details of the head and hair. The cranial protuberance on the top of the head, referred to as the ushnisha, is, in U-Thong Styles B and C, topped with a tall, flaming jewel. The hair is arranged in small, tight curls, in contrast to the larger ‘snail-shell’ curls found in the contemporaneous sculpture of Sukhothai. Additionally, the hair is separated from the forehead by a thin, plain band. In U-Thong Styles A and B, the band typically runs straight across the top of the forehead. The face, with its heavy-lidded, downcast eyes, broad nose, and wide mouth with full lips, demonstrates the influence of earlier Khmer styles, including the Bayon of the thirteenth century, although in Style C these somewhat severe features are softened. The shape of the face, which in Styles A and B are almost rectangular, is in Style C closer to the more oval-shaped faces of contemporary Ayutthaya sculpture. Literature comparison: Compare a related, slightly later Ayutthaya bronze head of Buddha, dated to the 15th century, in the Georges Labit Museum, Toulouse, inventory number 71 3 2. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 20 September 2021, lot 375 Estimate: USD 12,000 or approx. EUR 12,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of casting with similar facial features, hairstyle, and incised details. Note the size (30.5 cm).

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