ROCK CRYSTAL CARVING OF A SEATED BUDDHA QING DYNASTY, 19TH CENTURY 清 水晶雕釋迦摩尼佛座像 seated in dhyanasana with the right hand held in bhumispara mudra, the left hand resting in dhyana mudra, the head with ushnisha and incised square curls, the benevolent face with incised urna, eyebrows and downcast eyes, wearing voluminous robes and chest detailed with necklace (8.1cm high) Qty: (1) Provenance: By descent- Private Scottish collection, Harrietfield, Kelso; previously from the family estate bought in 1847, Newton Don, Kelso. Newton Don lies in the lowland hills near Kelso, overlooking the Eden Water, a tributary of the Tweed. It owes its name to the Don family who first acquired the former manorial lands of Newton around 1648. Sir Alexander Don inherited the estate and baronetcy in 1776 and over the next forty years the family brought about significant change. The Dons sought to expand the pleasure grounds and to create a secluded, fashionable, country seat and by 1800, a visitor described the estate as a ‘remarkably pretty, cheerful place’. Between 1817 and 1820 renowned English architect Sir Robert Smirke (1781-1867) made considerable alterations to the eighteenth-century house, for which Robert Adam had prepared the original plans. Unfortunately, the transformation had strained the family coffers to such an extent that the estate was sold in 1847. Harrietfield was the farmhouse of the Newton Don estate home farm. It may have been built after the marriage of Lady Harriet Cunningham to Alexander Don in 1778, hence the name. Note: Compare to a similar rock crystal carving of Buddha, Burma, 18th-19th Century, sold at Sotheby's New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1102A