BUDDHA: ANTIQUE CHINESE/TIBETAN HEAD, GILDED BRONZE, GREAT PATINA, late 1800’s
If you set your monitor at FULL SCREEN from TOOLS you will be better able to view the photos.
This is a most beautiful head of the Lord Buddha, cast in bronze and gilded in China or Tibet, most likely toward the end of the 19th Century, or the late 1800’s.
This may have been part of a larger, full figure, as the bottom edges of the neck are very rough, possibly indicating that it was removed from a larger figure, as so many heads unfortunately were. The bottom of the head was never closed, I think, and there is still some of the tempered core of sand and clay inside.But, naturally, the possibility that this head is a fragment of a larger figure is just a supposition on my part.
The face and neck were gilded, but much of the gold has been worn away revealing a layer of dark brown lacquer underneath. The beautifully executed coiffure of snail curls with a relatively large usnisha, or top knot, has a slight accumulation of verdigris. And the unusual cylindrical orb atop the usnisha was also gilded.
There is an urna on the forehead of our Buddha, which is the prominent round shape placed as an auspicious mark, symbolizing a third eye indicating the Buddha’s ability to see past the mundane universe of suffering into the world of the divine.
The two aspects of this superb sculpture which mark it as really extraordinary are its patina and the finesse of the modeling. Both of which are better seen in the photos than described in words. Suffice it to say that the combination of the flashing of the remaining gold with the underlying brown lacquer on the face and the grey/green of the coiffure make a great visual impression. And the modeling of the face perfectly expresses the Buddha’s otherworldly composure and peace and more than a touch of good humor.
This head of the Lord Buddha is 5 3/4 inches tall.Besides the roughness, cracks and holes around the bottom of the neck, there is no other serious damage. There is small ding on the left cheek and a small crack on the left side of the orb atop the usnisha. But the surface is completely stable with no powdering or flaking.
The photographs give an excellent idea of the beauty and finesse of this wonderful piece of sacred Sino-Tibetan art.
If you should have , please don’t hesitate to contact me. And thanks for looking.
Due to limitations of photography and the inevitable differences in monitor settings, the color of the pictures on your monitor may be slightly different from the statue itself, but I did my best to capture it as it is. And, at least on my monitor, the color is a perfect match.The small black support is not part of this auction.
Winning Bidders: please pay for your item within three days of this auction’s close.
Foreign Buyers: please request an invoice with actual shipping costs before paying.
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