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Lot Essay
This rare sandstone sacred image is rather well preserved apart from missing feet and arms. Due to the minute figure of an Amitabha Buddha, seated in sattvasana with both hands in dhyanamudra and placed against his conical-shaped chignon, he can most likely be identified as Avalokiteshvara or the bodhisattva of Compassion. In Khmer art he is better known as Lokeshvara or the ‘Lord of the World’. Only most known examples have four arms instead of two like the presented one. Therefore it can not be definitely ruled out that he represents another bodhisattva.
The stone figure is embellished with ornamentations including a delicate sculpted necklace and heavy ear-pendeloques. This specific elaborate ornamentation is seen on various male and female stone examples of the Angkor Wat period. The sampot secured with a belt carved with floral musters is in general more known from earlier examples. During this Angkor Wat period these belts wear mainly carved with two rows of ovals. The double fish-tail shaped flanges falling to the front of his sampot touching or almost reaching its lower border as well the rather simple conical-shaped chignon are well-known from twelfth century examples.The face of this bodhisattva is showing an impersonal, even an almost enigmatic expression, typical for the Angkor Wat period. Earlier examples display often more softer, almost spiritual expressions.
Most likely the artist of this fine sculpture borrowed fashion elements of slightly earlier times which can be found on other published and discussed stone examples as well. Apparently some of these stone examples were recorded to be found in present day Thailand in the area of Phimai which has been a Buddhist stronghold over the centuries. Thus it is not too far sought to suggest that the presented figure could stem from that area, carved in the twelfth century, though with fashion elements borrowed from earlier styles.
A twelfth century Avalokiteshvara stone figure, though four-armed and deprived of any jewellery, is published by P. Pal in Art from Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia, in Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, vol. 3, Yale University Press, New Haven 2004, plate 156. This four-armed example displays a very similar sampot, belt and fish-tail shaped flanges to both front and back. The author suggests that it is possible that the image was sculpted in Thailand and had borrowed fashion elements from earlier periods. A two-armed Lokeshvara example, though transformed in later times into Shiva, is on display at Musee Guimet, Paris. It is published by P. Baptiste and Th. Zephir in L'Art khmer dans les collections du Musée Guimet, Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, 2008, catalogue number 53.
This lot is coming from the same private collection than lot ?????
The stone figure is embellished with ornamentations including a delicate sculpted necklace and heavy ear-pendeloques. This specific elaborate ornamentation is seen on various male and female stone examples of the Angkor Wat period. The sampot secured with a belt carved with floral musters is in general more known from earlier examples. During this Angkor Wat period these belts wear mainly carved with two rows of ovals. The double fish-tail shaped flanges falling to the front of his sampot touching or almost reaching its lower border as well the rather simple conical-shaped chignon are well-known from twelfth century examples.The face of this bodhisattva is showing an impersonal, even an almost enigmatic expression, typical for the Angkor Wat period. Earlier examples display often more softer, almost spiritual expressions.
Most likely the artist of this fine sculpture borrowed fashion elements of slightly earlier times which can be found on other published and discussed stone examples as well. Apparently some of these stone examples were recorded to be found in present day Thailand in the area of Phimai which has been a Buddhist stronghold over the centuries. Thus it is not too far sought to suggest that the presented figure could stem from that area, carved in the twelfth century, though with fashion elements borrowed from earlier styles.
A twelfth century Avalokiteshvara stone figure, though four-armed and deprived of any jewellery, is published by P. Pal in Art from Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia, in Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, vol. 3, Yale University Press, New Haven 2004, plate 156. This four-armed example displays a very similar sampot, belt and fish-tail shaped flanges to both front and back. The author suggests that it is possible that the image was sculpted in Thailand and had borrowed fashion elements from earlier periods. A two-armed Lokeshvara example, though transformed in later times into Shiva, is on display at Musee Guimet, Paris. It is published by P. Baptiste and Th. Zephir in L'Art khmer dans les collections du Musée Guimet, Editions de la Réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, 2008, catalogue number 53.
This lot is coming from the same private collection than lot ?????