AN UNUSUAL PAINTED WOOD FIGURE OF BUDDHA

Details

AN UNUSUAL PAINTED WOOD FIGURE OF BUDDHA
15TH CENTURY

The well carved figure shown seated in padmasana with right hand in bhumisparsa mudra and the left hand held just above the lap, the robes worn over one shoulder falling in crisp folds around the body, the broad face carved with downcast eyes and contemplative expresssion framed by the large ears with pendulous lobes and the straight line of the hair above the forehead, with a conical usnisa surmounted by a knob, traces of dark red, bright red and black pigment and gilding, cracks
32 3/4in. (83.2cm.) high overall, attached to wood base

Lot Essay

The knob-like top of the usnisa is typical of Buddhas of Sino-Tibetan type made in the early Ming dynasty. The curls of the hair of this figure were probably applied to the surface of the wood in a different material that has fallen off. The style of the Buddha's garments are also typical of the period. The closest comparisons to this wooden sculpture are gilt bronzes of the early Ming dynasty. In particular, see the Buddha in the British Museum, seated in the same pose and with a Yongle mark, Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, figs. 144E and 147B. Another example in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has a Xuande mark, Wladimir Zwalf, Buddhism, Art and Faith, London, 1985, no. 305