
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$25,000 inc. premium
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International Director
As Lerner writes of a similar piece held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "The finest Sinhalese art dates to the Anuradhapura period. Unfortunately, relatively few bronze sculptures from this period have survived, and those extant must be considered precious evidence of a once glorious past." (Lerner, The flame and the lotus, New York, 1984, no. 13, pp. 46-7)
Compare with other examples in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, 1990, pp. 189-197, nos. 46F-50I. A stupa reliquary in the Girkandaka Vihara (47E-I) shows small inset Buddhas facing the four cardinal directions that may well indicate the intended function of Buddhas of this scale.
Provenance:
Estate of Lawrence Phillips, New York