AN IMPORTANT BRONZE STATUE OF BUDDHA WITHIN A FLAMING AUREOLE, INDONESIA, CENTRAL JAVA, 8TH-9TH CENTURY
Gracefully cast, the standing Buddha holds both hands out in chin mudra, the gesture of consciousness, evoking peace and concentration. He is clad in a long diaphanous sanghati, his face with sinuously lidded downcast eyes and full lips, the hair arranged in snail-shell curls around the ushnisha. The head is backed by a circular aureole, from which twelve lambent flames emerge, the twelfth flame hidden behind Buddha’s back.


Provenance:
Collection of Paul J. Jewell, acquired 1984 in Singapore. A copy of a provenance statement written and signed by Paul J. Jewell, dated 15 April 2023, confirming the provenance stated above, accompanies this lot. Paul J. Jewell lived and worked in South East Asia for over 20 years, serving as the executive director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. To this day, he continues to collect Asian art and antiquities.

Condition:
Excellent condition, commensurate with age, with ancient wear, minor signs of weathering and erosion, expected casting irregularities, small losses and nicks. The bronze encrusted with a rich, naturally grown patina of vibrant malachite-green color overall. Displaying exceptionally well.

Weight: 3,050 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 33.1 cm (incl. stand), 28.2 cm, (excl. stand)

Mounted to a wood and metal stand. (2)


Expert’s note:
Buddhist art produced in Indonesia during the 8th and 9th centuries under the patronage of the Shailendra dynasty displays a unique amalgam of regional artistic styles borrowed from the Indian subcontinent. The flowing contours of the body subtly delineated beneath the diaphanous garment are reminiscent of the Gupta style of northern India while the sloping shoulders and oval face with full cheeks recall the Sri Lankan Buddha images produced in Anuradhapura during the 7th and 8th centuries.


In Buddhist art, the nimbus
is often imagined as consisting not just of light, but also of real flames. While this type seems to first appear in Chinese bronzes of which the earliest surviving examples date from before 450, it became something of a hallmark for the most important Chola bronzes, such as Shiva Nataraja, an image which emerged around 800 AD in Southern India, at the height of the Chola Empire. In the present statue, the depiction of the twelve flames is rather formal, as they are neatly arranged in identical intervals around a ring aureole, almost like on an ancient sundial.


Literature comparison:

Compare a related Javanese bronze standing figure of Buddha, 19 cm high, dated 9th-10th century, in the British Museum, registration number 1859,1228.98. Compare a related Javanese bronze figure of a seated Buddha Vairocana, 19.4 cm high, dated late 9th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.142.23. Compare a related Indonesian bronze figure of Buddha, 26.7 cm high, dated 7th-8th century, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1993.64.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 March 2012, lot 148
Price: USD 22,500 or approx.
EUR 27,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze figure of Buddha, Indonesia, Srivijaya, Palambang, 8th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related facial features and pose. Note the similar size (34.3 cm) and patina. Also note the extensive weathering, losses, and other condition issues.