RARE TETE DE MOINE EN PIERRE VOLCANIQUE
RARE TETE DE MOINE EN PIERRE VOLCANIQUE

INDONESIE, JAVA CENTRAL, IXEME SIECLE

細節
RARE TETE DE MOINE EN PIERRE VOLCANIQUE
INDONESIE, JAVA CENTRAL, IXEME SIECLE
Le visage serein, les lèvres souriantes, les yeux mi-clos, les lobes d'oreilles allongés, le crâne rasé, socle
Hauteur: 32 cm. (12½ in.)
來源
From a Dutch private collection
Acquired in the mid 1990's
更多詳情
A RARE VOLCANIC STONE HEAD OF A MONK
INDONESIA, CENTRAL JAVA, 9TH CENTURY

榮譽呈獻

Mathilde Courteault
Mathilde Courteault

拍品專文

Technical Examination Report available upon request

Just a small group of stone monk's heads have come down to us and most of them are presently on display in museums in Indonesia. Only a very few are known to be intact, complete with their body. However all are depicted with the heads shaven and display elongated pierced earlobes, suggesting that they were not just ordinary monks though of noble birth. Before receiving their ordination these monks had evidently worn ear ornaments. The slight differences in the shape and also their expressions suggest that they are not just representing a type or even class but most probably portray a real personage, most likely a donor. Actually inscriptions have suggested that Buddhism on Java paid considerable attention to the personal merit of donors, thus perhaps stimulating the creation of portrait sculpture in relief and in the round, like the presented head.

A complete seated stone monk or donor is depicted in J. Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York 1990, pl. 12.