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BUDDHA: ANTIQUE HEAD, CHIANG SAEN from THAILAND, GILDED BRONZE, late 1800’s
If you set your monitor at FULL SCREEN from TOOLS you will be better able to view the photos.
This is an extraordinarily beautiful head of the Lord Buddha cast in bronze by the lost wax process and partially gilded in Thailand most likely sometime in the late 1800’s. It could be earlier, but I doubt that it is much later.
Although created at a later time, this figure generally reflects the traditions of the Chiang Saen style. Chiang Saen images were created in northern Thailand between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. Early images were similar to the Pala style Buddha images of India, with a lotus bud or orb surmounting the usnisha, or top knot, snail shaped hair curls, round face, narrow lips and prominent chest. Such images were usually in the subduing Mara position, cross-legged, with the soles of the Buddha’s feet visible. Many later Chiang Saen images were carved from crystals and gemstones.
The following image is a good example of the Chiang Saen style:
Judging by the irregular and jagged bottom edge of the neck of our preent head, it was most likely rudely removed from a larger statue, probably of the Lord Buddha seated in Marivijava, the position of meditation in which prince Gautama achieved enlightenment and subdued Mara. It is the most frequently used assana or posture in most of Thai art and in the Chiang Saen style in particular.
The two things I love most about this head of the Lord Buddha are his beautiful patina and gentle expression.
The face and orb were gilded, but much of the gilding has naturally been worn away revealing an underlying layer of brown lacquer. The delicately modeled curls of the coiffure were apparently not covered with this lacquer and have acquired some verdigris. This combination of the flashing of the remaining gold with the brown lacquer and the grey/green of the verdigris is a visual feast.
And the consummately gentle expression on the Lord Buddha’s face is one of absolute peace and calm, which seems to me to be alternately smiling or more serious, depending on the angle of viewing.
The head itself is 5 1/2 inches tall; on the simple wooden base it is 7 inches tall. There is no significant damage to the head whatsoever, apart from the jagged bottom edge of the neck, and no sign of repair or restoration. There are a few very small voids between some of the curls, which I take to be casting flaws.
The photographs give a very good idea of the beauty and finesse of this wonderful piece of Sacred Thai Art.
If you should have , please don’t hesitate to contact me. And thanks for looking.
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Due to the limitations of photography and the inevitable differences in monitor settings, the color of the pictures may be slightly different on your monitor from the figure itself, but I did my best to capture it as it is. And at least on my monitor, the tonality of the patina is nearly a perfect match.
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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I am an artist/painter and a life-long antiques collector and dealer. I absolutely guarantee that every item is as described in my words and pictures. If you should have at all, please contact me, and I will respond as quickly as possible.
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