AN ANDESITE HEAD OF BUDDHA, 9TH - 10TH CENTURY Indonesia, Central Java. Finely carved with bow-shaped mouth and downcast eyes centered by a raised urna, flanked by pendulous earlobes, the hair in snail-shell curls over the conical ushnisha.

Provenance: Hopareboden Antikviteter, Stockholm, Sweden, 14 June 1965. From the private collection of Mr. Lampa, Sweden, acquired from the above, and thence by descent to the last owner. A copy of the original invoice from Hopareboden Antikviteter, signed by the owner Eva Rudenschöld, dated 14 June 1965, accompanies this lot. Countess Eva Gabriella Rudenschöld (1915-2005) was a Swedish noblewoman and a well-regarded collector and antiques dealer in Stockholm.
Condition: Overall commensurate with age, showing old wear from handling and worship, sings of weathering and erosion, few chips and losses. The wood base with minuscule nicks.

Weight: 6.2 kg (incl. base)
Dimensions: Height 24.7 cm (excl. base) and 35 cm (incl. base)

With a wood base dating to the 1960s. (2)

The facial features of this finely carved andesite head share physiognomic elements inspired by the preceding Gupta artistic tradition of Northern India, such as the well-defined nose and snail-shell curls covering both the head and ushnisha. This remarkable head also closely resembles the manifold transcendental Buddhas that adorn the Buddhist monument of Borobudur in Central Java, erected under the Sailendra Dynasty in the early years of the 9th century. The porous texture of the volcanic stone expertly fashioned into serene expressions manifest a sense of sincerity and bliss characteristic of classical Javanese sculpture. The great stupa of Borobudur is a three-dimensional mandala that maps the cosmic universe in five ascending terraces. The large-scale Buddhas at its pinnacle represent the highest levels of transcendental wisdom.

Literature comparison:
For a related example, see P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p. 104, cat. no. 126.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 24 September 2020, lot 715
Price: USD 32,500 or approx. EUR 35,200 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An andesite head of Buddha, Indonesia, central Java, 9^th - 10^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related curls, urna, and expression. Note the significantly larger size of 40.6 cm.