Country Group: The Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and Other)

Item id: 1342

This is one of the very best from my collection: it is a large, very early and very beautiful Buddha. The style, with the stiff ribbon and the distinctive headdress is classic 13-15th century Tibet- this one is at the early end of the range. It may be even a bit earlier, or be from the far north of India, because the casting is so thick, and the face has a strong Pala look to it. The thickly silver colored alloy is also strongly reminiscent of Pagan Buddhas of the 12th century. It has very nice detail on the base, as well as detailed design work on the ribbons which was hard to fully capture in photographs. The condition is outstanding, with no damage, losses or repairs. The piece looks to have been lacquered more than once over its long life, and there are traces of red and black lacquer, as well as gilding which was applied sometime in the last century. It has been cleaned over time, but not skinned: the beautiful complex patina remains. In all my years of collecting this is the only Buddha of its kind I have seen anywhere. It sits a full 15.5 inches tall by 11.25 inches wide by 7.25 inches deep at the base. I put a 5.5 inch Indian dancer in one photo to give a sense of its great mass. He weighs an impressive 20.5 pounds with no clay core.