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Lot 166
A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF THE INFANT BUDDHA
Estimated Value:
1.200 € - 1.800 €
Result:
12.950 € incl. Premium and VAT
Description:
China, Song to early Ming dynastyH. 14,8 cm
Standing in samabhanga on a separate cast lotus base incised with a concentric band of small pods, both hands stretched downwards along his body, wearing dhoti falling in large folds down his upper legs, secured around his hips, naked upper body, deprived of any jewellery, his youthful face displaying a serene expression with downcast eyes below arched eyebrows, raised urna, elongated earlobes and the curled hairdo continuing into the ushnisha, unsealed. Weight: 327 g.
Collection Paul Ragnar Wedendal, Stockholm (1924-2010), bought in Sweden according to him from the Sven Hedin family
This iconographic form of the infant Buddha is based on the story of Buddha’s birth. It is believed he was born already able to walk. He immediately took seven steps and with each step a lotus blossom sprang from the earth to prevent his feet from touching the ground. Then, in a move foretelling his eventual enlightenment, he pointed to the sky and earth and proclaimed “I alone am the World-Honored One! This is my last birth. There will be no more rebirths”. He and his mother were then showered with blossoms and sparkling water pouring from the sky. In Chinese art, the showers of water are often depicted issuing
from the mouths of divine dragons. A sulpture of Infant Buddha in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, is illustrated in René -Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, Tokyo / New York, 1974, pl. 185 - Minor wear, small old repair inside at the stand between the feet and the base
