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Lot Essay
Technical Examination Report available upon request
Just a small group of stone monk's heads have come down to us and most of them are presently on display in museums in Indonesia. Only a very few are known to be intact, complete with their body. However all are depicted with the heads shaven and display elongated pierced earlobes, suggesting that they were not just ordinary monks though of noble birth. Before receiving their ordination these monks had evidently worn ear ornaments. The slight differences in the shape and also their expressions suggest that they are not just representing a type or even class but most probably portray a real personage, most likely a donor. Actually inscriptions have suggested that Buddhism on Java paid considerable attention to the personal merit of donors, thus perhaps stimulating the creation of portrait sculpture in relief and in the round, like the presented head.
A complete seated stone monk or donor is depicted in J. Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York 1990, pl. 12.
Just a small group of stone monk's heads have come down to us and most of them are presently on display in museums in Indonesia. Only a very few are known to be intact, complete with their body. However all are depicted with the heads shaven and display elongated pierced earlobes, suggesting that they were not just ordinary monks though of noble birth. Before receiving their ordination these monks had evidently worn ear ornaments. The slight differences in the shape and also their expressions suggest that they are not just representing a type or even class but most probably portray a real personage, most likely a donor. Actually inscriptions have suggested that Buddhism on Java paid considerable attention to the personal merit of donors, thus perhaps stimulating the creation of portrait sculpture in relief and in the round, like the presented head.
A complete seated stone monk or donor is depicted in J. Fontein, The Sculpture of Indonesia, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York 1990, pl. 12.