Bonhams 1793 : A sandstone figure of a guardian lion Cambodia, Khmer, Bayon style, late 12th/early 13th century

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18 Mar 2013 13:00 EDT New York
Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art
Back to auction 20903

A sandstone figure of a guardian lion

Cambodia, Khmer, Bayon style, late 12th/early 13th century
The mane arranged in a mass of thick curls across his chest and on the back of the head, scrolling foliage framing his face, his mouth open wide as if grinning with teeth bared, his bulging eyes double outlined by stylized eyebrows, and wearing a foliate collar around his neck.
29 1/2 in. (74.9 cm) high

Estimate:

US$ 40,000 - 60,000
£26,000 - 40,000
€31,000 - 46,000

Footnotes

As noted by Sherman Lee (Ancient Cambodian Sculpture, New York, 1969, p. 110), although such statues were popular temple guardians throughout the Khmer empire, lions themselves were non-native to Cambodia. As a result, surviving examples show a powerful yet non-naturalistic figure and a fantastical mask-like face. These features, in turn, visually reinforce the present piece's protective function, while the collar renders its obedience to the religiopolitical institution it once guarded.

For a related example and further discussion see Hellen Ibbitson Jessup and Thierry Zephir (ed.), Millennium of Glory: Sculpture of Angkor and Ancient Cambodia, Washington, 1997, p. 81.

Provenance:
R. Hatfield Ellsworth and James Goldie, New York
Sotheby's, New York, December 1, 1993, lot 136
Raymond Handley, San Francisco
Private Collection, New York

Published:
Sherman Lee, Ancient Cambodian Sculpture, Asia House Gallery, New York, 1969, no. 45, p. 83 & 110.