£12,500
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art | 682
Auction: 13 May 2022 at 11:00 BST
八世紀 斯瓦特 銅鑄釋迦摩尼佛座像
cast seated in padmasana on a slightly waisted podium supported on a single lotus throne further raised on a stepped plinth, holding the hem of his robe in his left hand, missing right hand half raised, he wears a ripple-effect robe covering both shoulders draped on the seat, his face well defined with downcast eyes, prominent lips and nose flanked by a pair of large pendulous ears, the head and domed ushnisha covered with tight curls
Provenance: Private European collection
Note:
By the fifth century, Buddhism had been thriving in Gandhara and the Swat Valley in Northern Pakistan for six hundred years. Strategically located on the ancient Silk Road, the Swat Valley was once a vibrant centre of Buddhism with flowing artistic traditions financed by the extensive trade that flowed through the Khyber and Karakorum passes.
The ancient Swat Valley Buddhist art was predominantly in sculptural form and the term 'Swat Valley sculpture' refers to a region and a time period, which covers the far Western Himalayan regions inclusive of the Swat Valley, Gilgit and Baltistan from the 6th to the 9th centuries. The Swat Valley iconographic subjects were not extensive but had included important primarily buddha, peaceful deity, and complex deity figures.
Offered here is a seated Buddha cast in copper alloy, the usual material for Swat Valley sculptures, covered in dark brown and a touch of forest-green patina. This finely modelled figure is a classic rendition of Buddha Shakyamuni. The Buddha is shown seated on a throne supported on a single lotus base and the large lotus petals are bulbous, polished and smooth, contrasting with the robe he wears with rippling folds. He holds the hem of his robe with his left hand. This gesture is widely employed in seated Swat Buddhas, extending the style from earlier Gandharan stone images. His face peacefully rendered, the cavity in his eyes suggests that they might have been inlaid with silver, a common finish to celebrate Buddha's enlightened nature in Swat figures.
Comparable to a Swat Valley copper alloy seated Shakyamuni, 8th-9th century, which was sold at Bonham's Hong Kong, 2 Dec 2021, lot 1007; another silver-inlaid bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, 7th century, was sold at Christie's New York, 15 Mar 2016, lot 44. See gilded, partial gilded and copper alloy Swat Valley figures of seated Shakyamuni in Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 1636, 9342, and 20105.