.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
The standing figure of the Buddha with both hands raised in the gesture of vitarkamudra - the gesture of elucidation or argumentation - is an iconographic form unique to mainland Southeast Asia. The thumb and forefinger, joined at the tips, form circles representing both perfection and eternity. The figure is symmetrically arranged with the monastic robes closely clinging to the body, displaying very sensitive modeling of the torso and focusing on the purity and fluidity of form. The markedly raised brow and high, pointed ushnisha are characteristic of Mon Dvaravati Buddha images from this period.
As expressed by Jean Boisselier, "The school of Dvaravati may stand alongside the great Buddhist artistic traditions of India, so enduring were its innovations and so persuasive its influence on most of the art of Southeast Asia" (J. Boisselier, The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, 1975, p. 73). Large-scale sculptures of this type are quite rare. For a similar work in the Alsdorf Collection, see P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p.102 and 299, cat.no.124.
As expressed by Jean Boisselier, "The school of Dvaravati may stand alongside the great Buddhist artistic traditions of India, so enduring were its innovations and so persuasive its influence on most of the art of Southeast Asia" (J. Boisselier, The Heritage of Thai Sculpture, 1975, p. 73). Large-scale sculptures of this type are quite rare. For a similar work in the Alsdorf Collection, see P. Pal, A Collecting Odyssey: Indian, Himalayan, and Southeast Asian Art from the James and Marilynn Alsdorf Collection, 1997, p.102 and 299, cat.no.124.