Sandstone Head of Vishnu - Khmer, Pre-angkor period, 7th-8th century, Grey sandstone, 20 cms (8 ½ ins)

An exceptional grey sandstone head of a male deity, probably Vishnu, with an enigmatic smile; wearing large earrings and a tall, slightly tapering mitre headdress.

Vishnu, together with Brahma and Siva, is one of the members of the Hindu trimurti (Skt. ‘Triple Form’). Vishnu becomes incarnate in different divine forms (avatars) from age to age in order to preserve the world.
This style of Pre-Khmer sculpture used to be referred to as Prasat Andet. For a related image in the Cleveland Museum of Art, see plate 14 in Emma Bunker and Douglas Latchford, Adoration and Glory: The Golden Age of Khmer Art, Chicago: Art Media Resources, 2004.

PROVENANCE: Property of a private English collector. Acquired by the owner’s father during employment with the British Foreign Service during the 1950s or 1960s.

Standing wood Buddha - Thailand, 16th-17th c.; AYUTTHAYA PERIOD, carved, lacquered and gilded wood
H. 130 cms (51 ins)

A magnificent carved, lacquered and gilded wooden figure of Buddha, his face placid and reflective beneath a domed chignon rising to the remains of a flame finial; his arms extended to hold an alms bowl and his sanghati flaring and covering both shoulders with a broad belt and a central fold between the legs, with an extensive covering of gilding and black lacquer throughout.

This blissful, perfectly proportioned figure was sculpted during the middle part of Thailand’s Ayutthaya kingdom. The kingdom of Ayutthaya, established by King U Thong in 1350 in the Chao Phraya River basin to the north of Bangkok was, until the Burmese attacked and burned its capital in 1767, one of the richest and most enduring sovereignties of Southeast Asia, attracting innumerable merchants and other visitors, not only from neighbouring Asian countries but also from Europe as well.

For a similar large wooden figure in the renowned Jim Thompson collection, please see plate no. 71 in W. Warren and B. Brake, The House on the Klong: The Bangkok Home and Asian Art Collection of James Thompson, New York and Tokyo: Walker/Weatherhill, 1968.

Jonathan Tucker - Antonia Tozer Asian Art. 37 Bury Street, St James's, London SW1Y 6AU, United Kingdom - tel: ++ (0)20- 78.39.34.14 - fax: ++ (0)20- 78.39.34.15 - Email: jonathantucker1@aol.com - Website: http://www.asianartresource.co.uk