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Expert’s note
At 45 cm high, the present figure ranks among the largest and rarest surviving Central Javanese bronze images of Avalokiteshvara from the ninth century. Most Javanese metal sculptures of this period were conceived as small, portable icons and measure less than half the height of the present work; a bronze of such commanding scale is therefore virtually unprecedented. Its importance is heightened further by the retention of extensive, rich gilding, which would originally have endowed the deity with a radiant presence befitting Avalokiteshvara’s compassionate and transcendent nature.
The figure also bears eloquent witness to the artistic dialogue between Sailendra Java and the Pala territories of northeastern India. The elongated, subtly swaying body, narrow waist, long supple limbs, large hoop earrings, jeweled ornaments, and tall headdress centered by the diminutive image of Amitabha all find close counterparts in Pala-period Buddhist metalwork. A silver-inlaid gilt bronze Avalokiteshvara attributed to Northeastern India or Western Tibet and dated to the tenth or eleventh century at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2012, lot 87 (see auction comparison below) displays similarly sensuous modeling, cascading locks, princely jewelry, and an elaborate high chignon.
Such affinities reflect the movement of monks, texts, ritual practices, and sacred images across the Bay of Bengal: the celebrated Nalanda copperplate of circa 860 records that the Pala king Devapala endowed a monastery at Nalanda at the request of Balaputradeva, ruler of Suvarnadvipa and a descendant of the Sailendra house. The present figure transforms this shared international idiom into an unmistakably Javanese image of poised grace and spiritual authority, while its monumental scale and surviving gilding place it among the most remarkable bronzes of the Central Javanese period.
Finely cast, standing in a gently flexed pose upon a stepped rectangular pedestal, the right hand raised toward the waist in vitarka mudra and the left lowered in varada mudra. The slender bodhisattva is clad in a short dhoti secured by a jeweled belt and richly adorned with beaded necklaces, armlets, bracelets, and large hoop earrings.
The sensitively modeled face bears a serene expression, with almond-shaped eyes beneath arched brows, a slender nose, and full lips forming a subtle smile. The hair is arranged in an elaborate tiered jatamukuta centered by a diminutive seated image of Amitabha Buddha, with long matted locks cascading down the back.
The figure displays a rich, variegated green and brown patina with extensive encrustation.
Inscriptions: The reverse with a short cast inscription in Kawi, or Old Javanese script, an Indic-derived writing system widely used in Java and elsewhere in maritime Southeast Asia from around the 8th century.
Provenance: The collection of Mr. Ibrahim, Singapore and Indonesia, by 1991. Alexander Goetz, Bali, Indonesia, acquired from the above after 1991. A copy of a certificate of authenticity, confirming the dating and provenance stated above, issued by Gallery 101 and signed by Alexander Goetz personally, accompanies this lot. Alexander Goetz is a noted German art expert and collector who specializes in Indonesian works of art. As a young man, he built and sailed wooden boats around the world, and eventually arrived in Bali in 1971. Within a year, he became involved in the local art scene and in 1975, he was sponsored by the Indonesian Institute of Science to do research on contemporary art in Bali. In 1990, Goetz and his family moved to London where he opened the eponymous gallery specializing in Southeast Asian art, with Indonesia as the main focus. Since 2015, Alexander Goetz has run Gallery 101, a dedicated art space in Kabupaten Badung, Bali.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Old wear, signs of prolonged burial including pitting and weathering, encrustations, corrosion, losses to gilt. The bronze with a fine, naturally grown patina with vibrant and thick malachite encrustations.
Weight: 6.3 kg
Dimensions: Height 45 cm
Literature comparison:
Compare a related Indonesian gilt bronze figure of a four-armed Shiva, dated 8th-9th century, 27.9 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2004.556. Compare a related Cham bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, dated to the 10th century, 52 cm high, in the Museum of Vietnamese History, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, accession number BTLS.1289.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 March 2012, lot 87
Price: USD 812,500 or approx. EUR 1,000,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare and important silver-inlaid gilt bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Northeastern India or Western Tibet, Pala period, 10th-11th century
Expert remark: Compare the sensuous modeling, elongated proportions, subtle sway, facial features, and high chignon centered by Amitabha. Note the larger size (58.4 cm), silver inlays, and Northeastern Indian or Western Tibetan origin. These stylistic affinities reflect the close religious and artistic exchange between the Pala territories and the Sailendra realm, facilitated by the movement of monks, texts, and sacred images across the Bay of Bengal.
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