A SMALL KHMER BRONZE FIGURE OF AN APSARA, BAYON PERIOD Published: Stephen Little, Images of Buddha from the Michael Phillips Collection, Arts of Asia, January-February 2013, page 100, no. 18.

Cambodia, Khmer, 12^th - early 13^th century. Neatly cast in dancing posture, with the right leg raised, the left hand holding an implement, dressed in a finely decorated sampot, adorned with jewelry, the face with a serene expression, flanked by two elongated earlobes, surmounted by a tiara in front of a conical-shaped headdress.

Provenance: Collection of Lawrence Phillips, acquired during the 1960s and 1970s and thence by descent to Michael Phillips. Michael Phillips (born 1943) is an Academy Award-winning film producer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, his parents were Lawrence and Shirley Phillips, noted New York dealers in Asian fine arts, selling to the Met, the LACMA, the Chicago Art Institute, and the British Museum among others. Michael Phillips is a collector of Asian art himself, particularly Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan sculpture. His most important films include The Sting (winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1973), Taxi Driver (winning the Palme D'Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival), and Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Some old wear, minor losses, few nicks, cracks and shallow surface scratches, and minuscule encrustations. With an attractive malachite patina.

Weight: 184.5 g (incl. base)
Dimensions: Height 12 cm (incl. base)

Mounted to a modern acrylic base. (2)

Apsaras carved in bas-relief are frequently encountered on the walls of Khmer stone temples or Khmer bronzes. This particular apsara can be dated to the Khmer King Jayavarman VII (reign 1181-1200), who was a devoted patron of Buddhism and Buddhist art. The figure was cast in bronze over an iron armature, part of which can be seen within the broken right arm. It is likely that this figure belonged to a larger Buddhist shrine, such as that of Hevajra, in which case she would be classified as yogini.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 23 September 2004, lot 61
Price: USD 9,560 or approx. EUR 15,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Bronze Figure of a Dancing Apsara, Khmer, Bayon style, late 12th/Early 13th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related pose, headdress, and patina. Note the size (28.5 cm).

13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer's premium - only for buyers within the EU.