10886

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Item id: 10886

Early Buddha Stele/Tablet made of ancient glass-authentic, rare, strikingly beautiful. This is one of three related examples that are unlike any other antique/ancient Buddhist item I have owned or seen in a book, Museum, or other place They each are an extremely thick Glass tablet with the surface covered with a variety of Buddhist figures and animals either carved or molded onto the surface. Some figures might have begun with a mold, and then then been carefully reworked and some may have been molded and others may have been carved following a prototype. Each of the three has some of the same figures and a few different ones. They were all clearly done in the same workshop/location, and likely by the same hand. When a light is shined through them, the glass takes on a blue color. It is hard to tell how much the variation in thickness and patina (burial?) have affected the color, so it is difficult to tell whether theyare the same color or slightly different. The figures have a strong patina that shows decomposition in the glass. Some of the figures still have relatively clear features, others appear more worn, though I do not believe this is primarily from use, but from breakdown of the glass overtime. I’ve shown the glass to an expert on old glass. (Who knew nothing about Buddhist art). He felt that the glass could be more than 1000 years old as the way the surface was deteriorating and sluffing off in layers was the way that some ancient glass deteriorates overtime as it breaks down. On one of the pieces and entire layer completely fell away, in other places, it was more incremental. he also said that what looked like and encrusted dirt was probably not dirt at all, but was actually the result of the breaking down of the glass into its component materials which included sand. He said trying to remove that would degrade the image and the overall sculpture and that if it were removed, there would be little remaining.

I am not exactly sure of the origin, but based on the style of the figures, The condition of the glass, the patina, and the overall look and feel, I believe them to be quite old- as much as 1000 years old and possibly older, though I do not know how to reliably give them a specific age. I am always always suspicious when something comes along that is so exceptional and so different than everything else and there are no related examples to compare it to. These however, are of such high-quality, and have such an incredible look and feel to them that I believe they are truly old, and that they are Buddhist Stele or Tablets From Central Asia, or somewhere nearby, and probably from the first millennia or from shortly afterwards.

I have reached out to the experts, I know, and have searched the Internet and other sources I am aware of and still searching. I have received both skepticism, enthusiasm, and great curiosity, but so far they remain a mystery. Even though they are not for sale yet, I am posting them now in order to share them with you and to see if anyone has any information that might be helpful in further identifying them. I’m not planning to sell them until the next height end Buddha Gallery auction (when I will let the market place determine their value.

If you have any information about thse types of pieces, or anything related to them, please let me know. I will both include it in my description and will follow up on any leads. You may be able to provide me in my quest to learn more about them.

This one Is the smallest But it is almost as heavy as the largest one because it is thicker. It has the unusual three dimensional ball like shape at the top middle which may A stylized dragon head at the base of each of the six parts of the Round shape. I believe this is repaired if so, it is the only repair on The three pieces that I am aware of. You can see the color of the glass really well through the thin pieces of the ball as the glass is more and more opaque the thicker the glass becomes.

The condition is remarkably good for a glass object that has been either buried or unprotected for such a long time. Look at the beautiful untouched patina on the backside. It helps to give a sense of all this piece has been through.

I’ve taken several photos that are back lit, so you can see the color of the glass. The glass is extremely thick, so it takes fairly bright light in order to get the effect shown. One outstanding and interesting feature is that the details and clarity of the figures, especially the faces are especially clear when viewed went back lit (and also when the entire thing is turned around and viewed from behind, went backlit-the details are so clear when viewed this way that it looks like you are viewing it from the front) it’s remarkable how beautiful and intense the blue color of the glass is given how dark it looks when not lit. It would be wonderful to have a scientific analysis of the composition of the glass. I may get this done or I might leave it for the next owner to do. Based on the way, the surface has oxidized and the look of the back of each of the pieces, there may be metals mixed in to the glass mixture. One person who collection included an ancient glass from Central Asia, including a item from the Gobi desert from well documented early meteor impact thought that these might be from glass formed in the desert from sand that was fused when a meteor or meteorites hit the desert. I do not have reason to believe this is true, but it is an interesting possibility.

While I have been talking about all three of these, I am offering them separately. All three of them are on closely related Custom-hardwood stands.( 8.75"H x 6.5"W x 2"D ) - 8.4lbs / ( Base: 9"W x 1.5"H )


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