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Finely cast standing in samabhanga, the right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left in karana mudra, clutching the hem of his robe falling from the forearm. The slender body is clad in an uttarasanga draped over the left shoulder and culminating in a fishtail pleat. The serene face with downcast eyes beneath arched brows, a raised teardrop-form urna, full lips, and long pendulous earlobes, the hair arranged in tight curls around the smooth lotus-bud-form ushnisha.
Provenance: The private collection of Robert Rousset, Paris. Antichità La Balaustra, Bologna, Italy, by 1996. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above, and thence by descent to his son Enrico Bertuzzi. A copy of a stamped certificate written by Giuliana Zanetti of Antichità La Balaustra, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, dated 21 October 1996, confirming the provenance and dating above, accompanies this lot. Robert Rousset (1901-1982) was a former French radio officer in the merchant navy, who became one of the most prominent pioneers of the Chinese art market in Paris. As a child, his father, an insurance agent, would take him to H?tel Drouot where he started to buy at a very young age. His true passion for Asian art started in the 1920s, when he was sent on a mission to Beijing after the decline of the Qing empire, along with Osvald Sirén, the famous Swedish Asian art historian and connoisseur. He then became one of the main contributors of Chinese antiques for the Compagnie de la Chine et des Indes, founded in Paris in the early 20th century by the Blazy brothers. After the 1929 stock market crash, he had the opportunity to acquire the company. With his sister Suzanne in charge of the porcelain, they developed the business and became one of the most important dealers in France, selling pieces to the greatest museums, including the Musée Guimet and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than sixty years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, a small loss to the right hand, signs of weathering and erosion, and encrustations. The bronze with a rich, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustations.
Weight: 7.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 42.5 cm (excl. tang), 47.5 cm (incl. tang)
Expert’s note: The present bronze belongs to the distinctive corpus of standing Buddha images produced in mainland Southeast Asia between the 7th and 9th centuries, when sculptors were transforming inherited Indian models into increasingly independent regional forms. Particularly characteristic is the disposition of the hands before the torso. The use of the teaching gesture, vitarkamudra, with both hands is a remarkable innovation associated especially with Mon-Dvaravati and related early Southeast Asian sculpture. Unlike Indian images, where vitarkamudra is ordinarily confined to the right hand, Buddhas from this period may raise both hands in exposition, a configuration that became one of the most recognizable iconographic features of the region. This double teaching gesture is otherwise virtually unknown in the Buddhist world. Equally characteristic of this group is the absence of a rigid schema in the treatment of the Buddha’s hair and ushnisha. Surviving bronzes from the region display considerable variation, with snail-shell curls combined with conical, domed, raised, or more bulbous cranial protuberances. See a bronze standing figure of the Buddha, Thailand, dated to the 8th century, 48 cm high, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, accession number EA2013.59; and a pre-Angkorian bronze figure of Buddha, dated to the 7th-8th century, in the National Museum of Cambodia, accession number NMC.2853.
The Shailendra family emerged as a significant ruling dynasty in Indonesia during the eighth and ninth centuries, primarily associated with the establishment and promotion of Buddhism in Central Java. Scholarly research highlights their sudden appearance in historical records around 778, despite ambiguities surrounding their origins and the exact location of their kingdom. Early inscriptions in Sanskrit indicate that the Shailendras were influential in Buddhist architectural development, with notable temples, such as the renowned Borobudur, symbolizing their artistic and religious dedication. The relationship of the Shailendras with neighboring kingdoms, particularly the maritime kingdom of Srivijaya, remains a subject of scholarly debate, further complicating the understanding of their political reach and influence. Evidence also points to a potential local evolution of the Shailendras, suggesting they might have converted from Hinduism to Buddhism over time. The family’s contributions to Buddhist art and architecture not only shaped the cultural landscape of Java but also facilitated the growth of Buddhism as a significant religious force in the region.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated to the Central Javanese period, 9th century, 19.5 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1987.142.19.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 March 2017, lot 244
Price: USD 68,750 or approx. EUR 81,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze figure of Buddha, Thailand, Mon Dvaravati style, 9th century
Expert remark: Compare the similar pose, facial features, expression, and robe. Note the identical size (42.5 cm) and different culture.
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