A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA


SRI LANKA, LATE ANURADHAPURA PERIOD, 10TH CENTURY 3 1/8 in. (8 cm) high
|斯里蘭卡 阿努拉德普勒時代晚期 十世紀 銅鎏金佛陀像 Surviving with traces of original gilding, this figure of Buddha in meditation is a particularly handsome example of Sri Lankan Buddhist bronzes produced towards the end of the Late Anuradhapura Period (432-1017 CE). Religious and cultural exchange between Anuradhapura and the Pallava and early Chola Kingdoms of South India inform a number of the bronze's stylistic features indicating a 10th-century date (see Listopad, Phoenix Art Museum, Guardian of the Flame, Phoenix, 2003, pp.73-6). Among these features are its solid (as opposed to hollow) casting, the contrasting proportions between Buddha's slender waist and broad shoulders, the introduction of the monastic shawl (sanghati) over his left shoulder, and the roundness of his face. The bronze is related to a group of more than fifty 10th-century bronzes discovered in two hoards at Anuradhupura in 1968 and 1984, several of which are published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990, pp.204-7. However, unlike these bronzes, which scholars believe were produced en masse from molds, the present lot was clearly individuated by its creator. The piece excels for its attractive face, well modeled physique, and condition, comparing favorably to other c.10th-century bronzes sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24 March 2004, lot 40; 22 March 2018, lot 1018; and Christie's, New York, 19 March 2014, lot 1095. Published Phoenix Art Museum, Guardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka, Phoenix, 2003, p.84. Exhibited Guardian of the Flame: Art of Sri Lanka, Phoenix Art Museum, 8 February - 11 May 2003; The Cantor Art Center, Stanford University, 2 March - 12 June 2005; University of Virginia Art Museum, 21 January - 19 March 2006. Provenance Private Collection, US, by 1957 Thence by descent