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Item id: 10668

A GLASS FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI WITH AN INLAID GILT-COPPER MANDORLA
Information from the previous seller, a well known Austrian Auction house.
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Nepal, the figure 19th century or earlier, the base and mandorla 17th century. The Buddha standing in slight tribhanga atop a beaded pedestal backed by a lotus-petaled mandorla and foliate halo, his right hand raised in abhaya mudra and his left lowered holding the hem of his long sanghati, raised on a gilt-copper base of waisted rectangular form, supported by a pair of snow lions centered by a cloth draped over the front, flanked at the top by two fired clay circular lotus daises. The gilt-copper arched mandorla neatly chased and incised with foliate scroll and finely inlaid with five small stupas, four carved from rock crystal, the fifth of fired clay, all topped by a tiered spire.

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (established in 1976), Radevormwald, Germany, before 2020. Acquired by the gallery’s founder Peter Hardt (b. 1946) during his extensive travels in Asia, the first of which occurred during a formative world tour in 1973. Throughout his storied career, Peter Kienzle-Hardt organized countless exhibitions and participated in major international art fairs. He made many important contacts during this time and eventually met the Kienzle siblings, who shared his passion for Asian art and culture. A strong bond and deep friendship developed, ultimately leading to the creation of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst decades later in 2014. While the museum’s permanent exhibition predominantly comprised pieces from the Kienzle Family Collection, Peter Kienzle-Hardt supplemented it with objects from his own collection. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.

It originally came with a label that: Galerie Hardt, and it was inscribed ‘Buddha, Nepal, 17 Jh, Kupfer vergoldet’, the back ‘Reg #1823’, and was priced at EUR 4,750. Unfortunately, this label was lost. I did have a photo that included the front of one of the labels which I added as the last photo. I don’t have any photo of the back.
Condition: Good condition with some wear, minor dents, few tiny losses, rubbing and losses to gilt, the components all mounted together with little flaking to the natural adhesive. Fine, naturally grown patina with areas of verdigris particularly to the back. - ( 8.5" H x 4.25"W x 2.5"D ) - 375g.