Jeff Olson
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Lot 3225
A bronze seated figure of the Buddha Joseon dynasty, 17th century
18 March 2015, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$50,000 inc. premium
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Dessa Goddard
Senior Vice President, US Head, Asian Art Group
A bronze seated figure of the Buddha
Joseon dynasty, 17th century
Cast with child-like features and downcast eyes to his head covered with large curls that emphasize its great size in contrast to the diminutive body, the joined hands pointing upward in front of raised swastika on his chest framed by garment folds that envelop his legs crossed in the posture of meditation but leave the sole of his right foot visible; the dark charcoal gray metal showing patches of greenish corrosion in various crevices
11 3/4in (30cm) high
Cast with child-like features and downcast eyes to his head covered with large curls that emphasize its great size in contrast to the diminutive body, the joined hands pointing upward in front of raised swastika on his chest framed by garment folds that envelop his legs crossed in the posture of meditation but leave the sole of his right foot visible; the dark charcoal gray metal showing patches of greenish corrosion in various crevices
11 3/4in (30cm) high
Footnotes
The joined hands of this bronze Buddha seem to be an anomaly; but raised hands do appear on carved wood attendant figures such as the arhats in the Yongmun-sa Buddha assembly, dated 1684; and the upper row of standing bodhisattvas and attendants in the Silsang-sa Buddha assembly, dated 1782 (see Youngsook Pak and Roderick Whitfield, Handbook of Korean Art: Buddhist Sculpture, Seoul, 2002, nos.105 and 105-1, pp. 442-446). These wood figures from the late seventeenth and eighteenth century also have in common an enlarged head with youthful features on a small body, although less exaggerated than this cast bronze image.
Also of interest for the exaggerated proportion of the heads to bodies, as well as varied hand gestures, are the four small gilt bronze Buddhas surviving from a group of 23 commissioned by Queen Inmok in 1628 (see Pak and Whitfield, no. 102, pp. 432-433) Of note is the Vairocana, the largest Buddha (11.7cn high), with raised hands held in the diamond fist gesture. See also the Candraprabha, Bhaisajyaguru and Suryaprabha from the same set included in the exhibition Treasures from Korea, Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910, Philadelphia, 2014, cat. nos. 4-23, 4-24 and 4-25, p. 264; the Vairocana is photographed (fig. F-11) and discussed on p. 61.