TWO-DAY AUCTION - Fine Chinese Art / 中 國藝術集珍 / & Hinduism (CA0321) Sat, 6th Mar 2021 Lot 727

Starting price: €1000 Estimate: €2000 A LARGE GILT BRONZE STATUE OF MAHAKATYAYANA, RATTANAKOSIN KINGDOM Thailand, late 18th to mid-19th century. Seated in dhyanasana on a stepped two-tiered base, the hands supporting his huge belly, wearing a dhoti with a finely incised shawl draped over the left shoulder, the face with a meditative yet slightly humorous expression, flanked by pendulous ears, the hair in tight curls.

Provenance: From an Austrian private collector. Condition: Fine and original condition with old wear and minor losses to the gilding and lacquer. Some minor fatigue fractures. Few tiny dents and nicks here and there. Some losses.

Weight: 27 kg Dimensions: Height 46 cm

Mahakatyayana (or Katyayana) was a disciple of , listed among one of the ten principal disciples and renowned for his ability to elaborate on the Shakyamuni's terse instructions. His fat appearance is almost certainly co-opted from Chinese images of . However, according to Thai folklore, Mahakatyayana (Thai: Sangkajai) was extremely sought after for his looks, so he transformed himself into a fat monk to avoid distraction from the path. Greatly revered in Thailand, a similar, monumental sculpture of Mahakatyayana is built in Bang Nam Phueng Nok, in Samut Prakan province (see fig. 1).

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related but slightly larger copper alloy figure of Mahakatyayana (Himalayan Art Resources item no. 61649) at Bonhams Hong Kong in The Presencer Collection of on 2 October 2018, lot 138, bought-in at an estimate of HKD 160,000-240,000.