A UNUSUSAL “THE GREAT DEPARTURE OF THE BUDDHA” BRONZE Burma/Myanmar, Kingdom of Ava, 18^th – 19^th century. The Great Departure is the traditional term for the departure of Gautama Buddha (c. 563–c. 483 BCE) from his palace at Kapilavastu to live a life as an ascetic. This bronze is cast to depict the scene in which Prince Siddhartha leaves the palace riding his horse Kaṇṭhaka, the hooves of the horse are supported by deities to prevent noise and wake up the royal family, Chandaka (his charioteer) is shown clinging to the tail of Prince Siddhartha’s horse. The group raised on an openwork flat base, with a lacquer coating and gilding.

Condition: Good condition with traces of wear and few small losses to base as well as vestiges of malachite-green and ochre encrustations.
Provenance: The collection of The Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum. Institutional art collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. Dr. István Zelnik, President of the Hungarian South and Southeast Asian Research Institute, is a former high-ranking Hungarian diplomat who spent several decades in Southeast Asia, building the largest known private collection of Asian art in Europe.

Weight: 2640 g
Dimensions: Height 24.5 cm

Literature comparison: Compare with a bronze figure depicting the same subject in the collection of the British Museum, registration number 1981,1023.1.