Far Eastern Art, ^\ Dept. Of. Bronze Sculptures from Asia [Exhibition, Feb

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1131.96 New York (city) - The Metropolitan |N*(-82 museum of art - Far Eastern art, ^\ Dept. of. Bronze sculptures from Asia [exhibition, Feb. - Sept. 1975] N.Y. ,c1975.

BRONZE SCULPTURES FROM ASIA On the cover: Padmapani Lokeshvara Seated in Meditation Northern Pakistan. Swat Valley Region (or Kashmir) First half of the Seventh Century (see Plate 4) ( 1 » " »\i ' v • y

BRONZE SCULPTURES FROM ASIA

BY MARTIN LERNER

The Department of Far Eastern Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

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* Bronze Sculptures from Asia

The bronze sculptures in this exhibition come from such a vast geographical area, and such disparate cultures, as well as spanning some six centuries, that there can be no attempting to summarize here this major chapter in the history of man's artistic legacy. The interested reader will easily find this elsewhere. The omission of the historical context may indeed help some to concentrate on the purely visual delights these bronzes have to offer, since they were selected not in an attempt at a synopsis of the sculptural achievements of the cultures represented but rather for their individual aesthetic merits. Each, in its own way, stands as testimony to the skills and artistic genius of anonymous metalworkers at the service of their religions. The mechanics of the spread of styles was accomplished to a large measure through these small portable icons. Peripatetic monks and pilgrims carried them from one country to another; missions from the court of one country took them to faraway kingdoms, sometimes as gift, tribute, or as an aid to proselytizing. Indian bronzes, for example, have been found in China, and throughout Southeast Asia. The need to more closely delimit the dates of these images becomes acute, since the understanding of the chronology of the dissemination of styles is to a large part dependent on them. The technology of their manufacture is becoming clearer as increasing numbers of metal analysis are conducted. Some of these analyses prove the usage of the octo-alloy {ashta dhatu), which includes gold and silver, mentioned in the ancient metalworking treatises. They are all made by the lost-wax technique and, depending upon the alloy, are properly called bronzes, brasses or coppers. Lacking metal analysis for most, we have, with the exception of those with high silver content, retreated into the convenience of labeling them all "bronze," even though some are obviously not. The relative scarcity of metal images from these areas makes it easy to forget that often metal rather than stone was the source material for the finest sculptures. The costly nature of metal insured, in many instances, that only the most accomplished sculptors could work with it. And freed from the confines of the stone block, and working in a technique which allowed for a considerably greater plasticity, what glorious images they must have fashioned. Throughout history statues of the type included in this exhibition have been melted down to retrieve the metal; what has survived must indeed be considered rare treasure from the ancients. A final note, the length of the individual catalogue entries should not be considered the measure of the importance of these sculptures. Some have been well published, while others are being published for the first time.

19 5 8 2 7 1. Standing Buddha Northern Pakistan, purported to have been excavated at Sahri-Bahlol Style of Gandhara, fifth-sixth century Bronze Height: 11 Vi inches (including halo) Edith Perry Chapman Fund, 48.66 Plate 1

The sculptural styles of the ancient Gandhara region of northwest India and northern Pakistan are well preserved by rich remains in stone and stucco. A few rare, small bronzes, almost always representations of the standing Buddha, have also survived. A few of these "Gandharan" bronzes may belong to the late Kushan period (late third or early fourth century), closely following styles established in stone; more likely, however, they stand at some as yet undetermined chronological remove from their stone prototypes, perhaps by as much as three centuries.1 Most clearly belong to the later period. The Buddha's right hand is raised in the fear-allaying gesture {abhayamudra); his lowered left holds a portion of his outer garment. The treatment of the locks of hair is neither in the orthodox manner of Gandhara (the wavy "hellenistic" manner) nor that of the school of Mathura, with its individualized, small whorls of hair. Instead, it follows a late Kushan development in the Gandhara region of radiating half-concentric bands of hair, more clearly developed in the seated Buddha from Swat (no. 6, pi. 6). The treatment of the physiognomy is strongly reminiscent of the remarkable bronze standing Bodhisattva formerly in the Leff collection and now in the Los Angeles County Museum,2 and, to a lesser extent, the famous Berlin Vishnu Trimurti, which, as Dr. Pal has recently suggested, is more likely to be sixth-century Gandharan rather than seventh-century Kashmiri.3 The Buddha has recently been cleaned.

1. Barrett, D., "Gandhara Bronzes," The Burlington Magazine, no. 689, August 1960. pp. 361-63. 2. Pal, P., "Bronzes of Kashmir: Their Sources and Influences," Journal of the Rovai Society of Arts, October 1973, fig. 10. 3. Pal, P., "A Brahmanical Triad from Kashmir and Some Related Icons." Archives of'Asian Art, XXVII. 1973-74, fig. 8, p. 38. Published: 1. Barrett, D., "Gandhara Bronzes", The Burlington Magazine, No. 689. August 1960, fig. 30. 2. Rowland, B., The Evolution of the Buddha Image, New York, 1963, No. 5. 3. Chow, F., "Chinese Buddhist Sculpture," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n. s.. vol. XXIII, May 1965, fig.5 . 4. Hallade,M., Gandharan Art of North India, New York, 1968, pi. 128. 2. Seated Buddha Northern India, later style of Sarnath, ca. first half of the seventh century Gilded bronze inlaid with silver and copper Height: (?/% inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 2

The Buddha is seated on a cushion set on a stylized rocky mountain; his lowered right hand makes the boon-bestowing gesture (varadamudra), his left rests on his lap, holding a portion of the outer garment. The style of this sculpture relies heavily on the canons of the sixth-century schools of Sarnath but here is no longer so consciously geometricized; instead, the classical Gupta forms of the fifth and early sixth centuries have become a bit more heavy, the proportions more squat than encountered previously. The use of inlaid silver and copper to enrich the surfaces became fairly common after the fifth century. The curious iconography of a lion's head peering out from a cave in the center of the rocks again closely associates the piece with Sarnath. There are at least two rather close comparisons to be made with Sarnath stone pedestals for seated Buddhas incorporating a lion's head resting on crossed paws.1 This motif, rather than deriving from traditional lion thrones, seems traceable to Kushan reductions of elaborate representations of the Buddha in the Indrashala cave.2

I am indebted to Elizabeth Rosen for the information that the inscription on the back of the Buddha is the standard Buddhist creed in early Nagari script epigraphically consistent with my stylistic dating. 1. Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report 1906-7, p. 91, fig. 9; Catalogue of the Museum of Archaeology at Sarnath, pi. IX 2. For two examples, see Ashton, L. (ed.), The Art of India and Pakistan, New York, 1949. fig.59 , and Ingholt, H., Gandharan Art in Pakistan, New York. 1957, pi. 129. Published: Rowland, B., The Evolution of the Buddha Image, New York, 1963, no. 13 3. Standing Buddha Northern India, first half of the seventh century Gilded bronze Height: 18'/2 inches Purchase, Bequest of Florance Waterbury, 69.222 Plate 3

The Buddha stands in a slight hip-shot position, his left hand holding a portion of his outer robe; his right, raised in the fear-allaying gesture, clearly shows the webbing between the fingers, one of the supranatural physical marks of a Buddha. This tall and elegant image with its large, powerful head is the kind of North Indian sculpture that played a major role in the formulation of the early Nepali style. Indeed, part of the long history of this particular sculpture included a stay of unknown duration in Nepal.

Compare with the Standing Buddha in the Los Angeles County Museum. Archives of Asian Art, XXV, 1971-72, p. 98.

Published: Masterpieces ofFifty Centuries. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York. 1970. no. 104. 4. Padmapani Lokeshvara Seated in Meditation Pakistan, Swat Valley Region (or Kashmir), first half of the seventh century Gilded bronze inlaid with silver and copper Height: S3A inches Purchase, Harris Brisbane Dick and Fletcher Funds, 1974.273 Plate 4

This superb sculpture, one of the finest Swat Valley bronzes brought to light so far, closely reflects the inspiration of the Gupta idiom of Northern India during the sixth century. It occupies a pivotal position in Indian art, illustrating the transition between the sixth-century Gupta style and the great sculptural traditions of the eighth century in Kashmir and the Swat Valley region.

The deity is identifiable as the Bodhisattva Padmapani Lokeshvara, the lotus-bearing manifestation of the Lord of Infinite Compassion—Avalokiteshvara. The small Buddha in his hairdo is Amitabha, the "spiritual Father" of the Bodhisattva.

Wearing an antelope skin draped over his left upper arm and holding a lotus in his right hand, the Bodhisattva sits in the relaxed posture of "royal ease" (rajalilasana) on a platform supported by an inverted lotus. His raised right hand, with one finger pointed to the cheek, makes the distinctive gesture usually identified as one of meditation. This identification, however, is still problematic. It is sometimes considered a suitable gesture for the Bodhisattva Maitreya, the messianic deity waiting to become the next Buddha. Maitreya can therefore be considered to be in a state of anticipatory meditation. The gesture is also associated with Prince Siddhartha before his enlightenment. In the case of the sculpture at hand, however, the contemplative Bodhisattva in "pensive mood" holding a lotus can be traced directly from Gandharan stone sculpture, where he appears, first as an attendant figure and later, alone. It is clear that the contemplative Bodhisattva eventually was elevated to the position of an important cult image. The famous seventh-century Chinese pilgrim Hsuan-tsang found a temple with an image of this deity when he visited Swat, in what is today, northern Pakistan. Judging from stone sculpture still in situ in Udegram in the Swat Valley, a cult developed there specifically dedicated to the worship of this Bodhisattva in this unusual posture.1

Since the many large representations of this deity at Udegram are all, on stylistic grounds, later than this bronze sculpture, being closer to eighth-century Kashmiri styles and exhibiting little of the Gupta flavor of this bronze, it may well be that it is the earliest surviving example of this deity from this region. An informative comparison can be made with a fine Kashmiri example of the Bodhisattva, perhaps around fifty years later, now in the collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd.2 The comparison clearly points out the later tendency toward a greater elegance of conception, a consciously more graceful image, and the introduction of minor manneristic motifs. 4. Padmapani Lokeshvara Seated in Meditation

I am again indebted to Elizabeth Rosen for the information that the short inscription on the lotus petals seems to be donative. 1. Tucci, G., "Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in Swat," East and West, n. s., vol. 9, no. 4, December 1958, pp. 279-328, figs. 4, 10, 13, 18,19,22. 2. Lee, S. E., Asian A rt: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd, New York, 1970, no. 9.

5. Standing Crowned and Jeweled Buddha Northern India, Kashmir, ca. late eighth - early ninth century Gilded bronze Height: 20% inches Gift of Ben Heller, 1970.297 Plate 5

The Buddha is normally depicted wearing the simple garments of a monastic. A special form, however, developed, which permitted him to be portrayed wearing rich jewelry and a crown, perhaps meant to symbolize and isolate that great moment when Siddharta attained enlightenment and became "The Buddha." Alternately, Professor Rowland has suggested that the crowned Buddha symbolizes the special form of the transfigured Buddha splendidly revealing himself to the Bodhisattvas (the Buddha in sambhogakaya). The short, three-pointed garment with jeweled pendents covering the shoulders and upper part of the chest is not uncommon on Kashmiri representations of the crowned Buddha. Undoubtedly a foreign borrowing, its significance and origins are a bit obscure. It may have been borrowed from one of India's western neighbors, entering the North Indian repertory during the Kushan period, around the third century. In the sculpture of both Gandhara and Mathura, foreigners, probably of Indo-Scythic origin, wear this curious garment, seemingly comprised of mail-plate armor.1 The high tripartite crown and full fleshy face are standard for Kashmiri sculpture during the eighth and most of the ninth centuries.

1. Rosenfield, J. M., The Dynastic A rts of the Kushans, Berkeley. 1967, figs. 41,62a. 6. Seated Buddha Northern Pakistan, Swat Valley, late eighth or ninth century Bronze inlaid with silver Height: 8% inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 6

In spite of preliminary information left by Chinese visitors to the region of Swat (ancient Udyana or Uddiyana), from the early fifth century to around the middle of the seventh century, it has taken the activities of Italian archaeological teams, beginning around 1965, to bring to light the extraordinary wealth of sculpture and architecture in this area of northern Pakistan.1 The excavated material, primarily Buddhist, closely follows the well-known styles and iconography of Gandhara, contiguous with Swat's southern border. During the late sixth and seventh centuries, judging by the seated Bodhisattva (pi. 4), the styles of northern India were well known in the Swat River valley, continuing in use until the late seventh and eighth centuries, when they were replaced by the new and pervasive style of Kashmir. Additionally, minor stylistic impulses from Afghanistan and Central Asia are also discernible in Swat art. An overwhelming proportion of the new finds are in stone and stucco, but quite a few bronzes are known, including some only recently assigned a Swat provenance.2 More than anything else, these bronzes clearly link the later Swat style with her southeastern neighbor, Kashmir. One of the most beautiful examples of the mature style of northern Pakistan, this seated Buddha, probably from the Swat River valley area, continues the distinctive sculptural idiom evolved in Kashmir and northern Pakistan during the eighth century. The full and rounded forms, the sense of corpulent volumes, the elongated fingers, the rich variety of drapery motifs with unusual variations such as the dip of the upper hem of the robe on the chest, and the fall of the drapery pleats over the pedestal, all are characteristic of a late eighth- or ninth-century dating. The radiating, half-concentric bands of hair seem to originate with late Gandharan stone sculptures. The Buddha sits 'mpadmasana on a double-lotus pedestal, making the gesture of setting the wheel of law into motion (dharmachakrapravartanamudra), symbolic of his first sermon delivered near Benares.

1. Tucci, G., "Preliminary Report on an Archaeological Survey in Swat," East and West, n. s.. vol. 9, no. 4, December 1958. pp. 279-328; Faccenna, D., and Gullini. G., Reports on the Campaigns ¡956-1958 in Swat, Rome, 1962; Faccenna, D.. Sculptures from the Sacred Area of Butkara I, vol. II, 2. and vol. II, 3, Rome, 1962 and 1964. 2. Barrett, D., "Bronzes from Northwest India and Western Pakistan," Lalit Kala, no. 11, April 1962. pp. 35-44. 7. Standing Bodhisattva Northern Pakistan, Swat Valley (?), ca. ninth century Bronze inlaid with silver Height: 3lA inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg

This fine figure, to judge from the position of the breaks and size of the flames to his right, was one of a pair of Bodhisattvas flanking a larger image, perhaps Buddha. An unpublished bronze trinity from the Swat Valley, now in the National Museum, Karachi, shows the original configuration of such a grouping. Less likely, this Bodhisattva may have been part of a much larger halo. The deity holds an alms bowl in his left hand, and his lowered right makes the boon-granting gesture. This fragment exhibits in small the high level of bronze-working techniques characteristic of this region.

8. Vajradharma Lokeshvara Northern Pakistan. Swat Valley, ninth century Bronze inlaid with silver Height: 151A inches Gift of Mrs. John D. Rockefeller. Jr., 42.25.20 Plate 7

This extraordinary image, rare or perhaps iconographically unique,1 is one of the first Swat Valley bronzes to have entered a public institution in this country, having been placed on loan at the Metropolitan Museum in 1937 and then gifted, in 1942, by Mrs. John D. Rockefeller. Jr. The seated Bodhisattva can be identified as Vajradharma Lokeshvara by the peacocks on the pedestal, the orthodox vehicle for this deity, and by the singular gesture of opening the lotus flower at his breast. Additionally, he holds a bow and arrow and has in his headdress a representation of his spiritual preceptor, the Buddha Amitabha. The Bodhisattva also has associations with the more important Manjushri, who often holds the bow and arrow, and who in rare cases also has the peacock as his vehicle.

I. For the closest iconographie variant known to me. sec Christies. June 19. 1973. lot no. 112. Published: Barrett. D.. "Bronzes from Northwest India and Western Pakistan." Lalit Kala. no. 11. April 1962. tig. 16(illustrated before cleaning). 9. Standing Parvati Southern India, Madras, Chola Period, first quarter of the tenth century Bronze Height: 273/s inches Bequest of Cora Timken Burnett, 57.51.3 Plate 8

The world-renowned "Timken Parvati," aside from being one of the great treasures in the Museum's collection, is probably the finest Chola period representation of the goddess outside of India and at the very apex of all Indian sculpture. The genius and obvious skills of her creator have resulted in a timeless conceptualization of Parvati—the consort of Shiva and the divine and eternal Female of surpassing beauty and grace.

Published: 1. Lippe, A.. "The Sculpture of Greater India," Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n. s.. vol. XVIII. February 1960. cover. 2. Srinivasan. P. R.. "Bronzes of South India," Bulletin of the Madras Government Museum, n. s„ vol. VIII. 1963.pl.XLI.XLII. 3. Sivaramamurti. C. South Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1963. pi. 58. 4. Master Bronzes of India. Art Institute of Chicago, 1965. fig. 28. 5. Masterpieces ofFifty Centuries. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1970. no. 134. 6. Lippe. A.. The Freer Indian Sculptures. Washington, 1970, pi. 30. 31. 7. Lippe, A., "Divine Images in Stone and Bronze." Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 4. 1971. figs. 49-51. 10. Standing Vishnu Southern India, Madras, Chola Period, third quarter of the tenth century Bronze Height: 33% inches Purchase, John D. Rockefeller 3rd Gift, 62.265 Plate 9

In the trinity of later Hindu theology Brahma was considered to be the Creator; Shiva, the Destroyer, and Vishnu, the Preserver. Having Vedic period origins as a solar deity, Vishnu evolved into a god of prime importance, second only to Shiva. The attributes assigned to him were militant. In his upper dexter hand he holds the war discus; in his upper sinister hand, the conch shell (a kind of battle trumpet); the lower sinister hand makes the gesture of holding a war mace, and the lower dexter hand is in the fear-allaying gesture. Standing in a frontal position, both legs set symmetrically on the double-lotus pedestal, the deity exhibits the benign grandeur suitable to his majestic purpose of preserving the cosmos. The forms of the body are superbly modeled, the subsidiary elements of jewelries and draperies meticulous and well suited to the figure. The upright prongs flanking the pedestal originally supported a halo, and the rings at the corners allowed for the insertion of poles to permit the image to be carried in procession.

Published: 1. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1970. no. 133. 2. Lippe, A.. "Divine Images in Stone and Bronze." Metropolitan Museum Journal, vol. 4. 1971. figs. 18-21. 11. Seated Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara Sri Lanka (Ceylon), ca. ninth century Bronze Height: 3'4 inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 10

This rare, early Singhalese image is stylistically very close to the well-known Coomaraswamy Avalokiteshvara, now in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.1 In addition to sharing stylistic and chronological common denominators, they probably also are iconographically alike; the worn central medallion in the hairdo of the Eilenberg Bodhisattva seems to contain a seated Buddha. A graceful and well-modeled image, the deity radiates a sense of compassion appropriate to Avalokiteshvara.

1. Coomaraswamy, A., Bronzes from Ceylon, Chiefly in the Colombo Museum. Ceylon, 1914, figs. 172, 173. 12. Bodhisattva Seated on a Lion Throne Indonesia or Southern Thailand, Shrivijaya Style, ninth century Bronze Height: 8'/: inches Lent anonymously Plate 11

Sometime during the seventh century a major maritime power developed in Southeast Asia—the Indianized kingdom of Shrivijaya. with its capital at Palembangon Sumatra and colonies on the Malay Peninsula and in southern Thailand. The strategic geographic location of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula on the sea route from India to the Far East not only insured Shrivijaya's political importance but provided it with a source of icons, carried by pilgrims passing through on their way to visit the major religious sites of the Buddhist and Hindu world. Shrivijaya became an important center for Buddhist studies toward the end of the seventh century and may have remained so as late as the eleventh century. The fortunes of the Shrivijaya kingdoms were inextricably interwoven with those of the Shailendras of Java, and by the ninth century Palembang seems to have become a Shailendra protectorate.

Our basic knowledge of the history of the Shrivijaya kingdoms, however, is totally inadequate. No less inadequate is our knowledge of its art history. The rarity of bronzes in the Shrivijaya style and the wide distribution of find spots make it difficult, for example, to assign a provenance for this fine bronze.

The greatest stylistic influence on the art of Shrivijaya. at least the bronzes, comes from the Pala dynasty of Eastern India. The visual associations with Pala sculpture are so strong, it was once suggested that many of the bronzes in the Shrivijaya style are actually of Pala manufacture. The treatment of pedestals and halos, for example, seems to be derived from eighth- and ninth-century Pala bronzes from Nalanda and Kurkihar and Chedi bronzes from Sirpur in Madhya Pradesh.1 The Shrivijaya modifications are the open pedestal, four lion supports rather than two. and the rounded, rather than rectangular, hanging cloth between the two front lions (here missing). Of considerable interest, the handling of the pendent cloth at Sirpur seems intermediary between Nalanda-Kurkihar types and that of Shrivijaya.2 There is also the possibility that both the Pala and Shrivijaya bronzes derive from a common, as yet unidentified, Indian prototype.

The Bodhisattva is seated in the posture of royal ease (lalitasana) on a double-lotus throne upon an open pedestal with lion supports at each corner. The high jeweled hairdo, the sparing use of additional body adornments, the subtle flections of the body, the gentle fluidity of forms and volumes, all combine to give the Bodhisattva a relaxed but regal bearing. Since the original halo has not survived, it is no longer possible to identify the specific Bodhisattva intended. With bronzes of this type, the figure holds in his left hand the stalk of a lotus which continues up the halo to the flower supporting the identifying attribute.3 The colored pigments are not original.

1. The Sirpur bronzes are assigned to the Chedis by Dr. Sivaramamurti in, 5000 Years of the Art of India. New York, undated, p. 217 2. See Shah, V.P..Akota Bronzes. Bombay. 1959. pi. 6a; Journal ofIndian Museums; vol. VIII. 1952. fig.2 1 (lower center). 3. For a similar Manjushn. see Lee. S. E., Asian Art: Selections from the C 'ollection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. New York. 1970. no. 27. and a Padmapani Lokeshvara in the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Archives of Asian Art, XXVII. 1973-74. p. 109. fig. 51.

13. Standing Surya Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. ninth century Bronze Height: 934 inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 12

Javanese representations in metal of the sun god, Surya, are quite rare, and this example is the finest known to me. The style closely follows ninth-century Pala types, particularly some bronze Vishnu images found in the Bogra district of what is now Bangladesh.1 Surya is usually identifiable by the two lotuses held symmetrically (here just the stalks have survived), and by his singular costume. The padded boots, and belted tunic decorated down the front of the chest, are both Kushan-period borrowings from Persia; when wearing this costume he is said to be dressed in the "northern manner." The decorated tunic, however, seems to have fallen out of favor in Bengal and Bihar and, as seen here, is closer to Central Indian and Orissan types. For another Javanese Surya without tunic, see Bernet Kempers. A.J., The Bronzes of Nalando and Hindu-Javanese Art, Leiden, 1933, fig.32 .

1. BritishMuseumacq.no. 1955.4-22. 1. and Victoria and Albert Museum acq. no. LS. 20-1955. Published: Masterpieces o¡ Asian Art in American Collections. New York. 1960. no. 25 (not illustrated). 14. Seated Buddha Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. second half of the ninth century Bronze Height: 7Vi inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg

This well-known sculpture, one of the most imposing Javanese metal Buddha images extant, beautifully modeled and well cast, has developed the soft, gray-green patination common to many Indonesian bronzes. The Buddha is seated in the yogic, cross-legged lotus posture {padmasana) on a double-lotus pedestal. His raised right hand makes the teaching gesture (vitarkamudra); his open left hand rests on the sole of the right foot. The style of the Buddha shows an increasing tendency toward elegance by way of a new system of proportions, perhaps responsive to the styles evolved at Nalanda in northeast India. This tendency toward slimmer, more elongated forms is readily apparent if one compares this Buddha to the heavier, more massive early ninth-century stone Buddhas from Borobodur. Being closer in style to the Central Javanese site of Tjandi Plaosan than to Borobodur, the Eilenberg Buddha is likely to belong to the second half of the ninth century.1

1. Cf. BemelKempers, A.J., Ancient Indonesian Art, Cambridge. 1959.pl. 133. Published: 1. Wagner, F. A.. Indonesia, New York. 1959. p. 111. 2. Rowland. B.. The Evolution of the Buddha Image. New York. 1963, no. 34. 3. Rawson, P., The Art of Southeast Asia. New York, 1967. ill. 200. 4. Munsterberg. H.. Art of India and Southeast Asia. New York, 1970, p. 206. 15. Seated Tara Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. tenth century Silver Height: 2-5/16 inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg

The goddess Tara makes the boon-granting gesture with her right hand and holds the long stalk of the lotus flower in her left. The modeling of the forms of the body is precise and crisp; the intricate jewelries and hairdo enrich an already sumptuous image. As with many Indonesian silver statuettes, she probably originally had a bronze base and halo (see no. 17). This superbly crafted female deity clearly demonstrates the appropriateness of considering the Javanese Southeast Asia's sculptural miniaturists/?ar excellence. 16. Standing Buddha Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. tenth century Bronze Height: 7-11/16 inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 13

Lacking a large body of reliably dated monuments and individual statues, the chronology and stylistic sequences of Javanese sculpture are still to be worked out. This superb standing Buddha, elegant in attenuated form and proportion, seems to belong to a period posterior to the great Borobodur, and may date to the tenth century. Rather than owing stylistic allegiance to the Indian subcontinent, it may reflect styles evolved in Thailand. The face of the Buddha is distinctively Javanese; the treatment of the body, however, parallels some Mon-Dvaravati sculpture. The Buddha makes the expository, or teaching, gesture with his right hand, and in his left holds an alms bowl with a cobra. Serpents figure prominently in the life of the Buddha, and while it may be difficult to isolate the particular episode referred to here, two prime candidates exist, the first occurring at Uruvilva, the second at Rajagriha.1 At Uruvilva, disregarding the advice of the Hindu ascetic Kasyapa against spending an evening in a fire temple that housed a venomous serpent, the Buddha, through his effulgent glory, overcomes the creature, who meekly crawls into the Buddha's alms bowl. The Buddha later offers the subdued serpent to Kasyapa. The second episode is also concerned with the submission of a ferocious serpent who later appears in the Buddha's alms bowl. Both of these events are part of conversion stories; it is therefore not inappropriate for the Buddha to make the teaching gesture.

I. For the episodes and representations in Gandharan art. see Ingholt. H.. Gandharan Art in Pakistan. New York. 1957. pi. 81. 85-89.92. 163. Fora probable Javanese example, see Fontein. J., et al. Ancient Indonesian Art. New York. 1971. no. 23. 17. The Cosmic Buddha Vairochana Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. tenth century Silver (Buddha) and bronze (pedestal and throneback) Height: 3% inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg

In certain systems of Buddhism, Vairochana is considered the prime Buddha, eternal and supreme. Here he is shown seated in the lotus position, making the gesture of "wisdom first" (bodhyagrimudra). usually associated with this diety.1 The ornamental floral medallions on the three sides of the pedestal probably evolve out of similar decoration employed at Borobodur and other earlier sites.2 The relative importance assigned to the pedestal and throneback, both in terms of size and decoration, is an interesting visual commentary on the aesthetic of the period. For another silver Vairochana on a bronze pedestal, see Supplementary Catalogue of the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1962, no. 353.

1. Le Bonheur. A.. La Sculpture Indonésienne Au Musée Guimet. Paris. 1971. pp. 125-26; Rijksmu seum Supplementary Catalogue, p. 14. 2. Bernet Kempers. A. J.. Ancient Indonesian Art. Cambridge. 1959. pi. 88.89. 18. Kinnara Playing the Vina Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. tenth century Bronze Height: 5-15/16 inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilen berg

This charming figure of a Kinnara,1 a celestial creature, half bird-half human, was originally part of the suspension system for a hanging lamp, serving as the intermediary element between the chain and the lamp (or bell).2 Here he is shown playing the vina, a kind of lute, pressing the resonator against his chest. These mythological demigods populate temple reliefs throughout Java's long history.3 The imaginative and skillful combining of purely decorative forms with human and avian forms places this piece among the better Central Javanese bronzes.

1. There is a slight possibility that the figure represents Garuda. the avian mount of the Hindu deitv Vishnu, but in Java he is usually portrayed as beaked and is not likely to be shown playing a musical instrument. 2. Cf. Fontein. J., et al. Ancient Indonesian Art. New York. 1971. no. 65. 3. Bernet Kempers. A.J.. Ancient Indonesian Art. Cambridge. 1959. pi. 55, 144. 162.

19. Mirror Handle Java, Central Javanese Period, ca. tenth century Bronze Height: 5V» inches Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 14

This handle was originally attached to a round bronze mirror. Mirrors were in common usage in Java; many have survived, but none to my knowledge with a handle so elaborate and complex as this. Cast and reticulated, it is a fanciful composition of figures, cloud motifs and rocks, similar to the reliefs on some temples. The inclusion of three monkeys suggests the Ramayana as the source for the scenes on either side.

See Fontein. J„ et al. Ancieni Indonesian Art. New York. 1971, cat. no. 75. 20. Vajrapani, and Tara Playing a Conch: Two Seated Deities from a Diamond Matrix Mandala Eastern Java, Kediri, Ngandjuk, ca. late tenth-eleventh century Height: 35/s inches; 3Vi inches Bronze Lent by Professor Samuel Eilenberg Plate 15

In 1913 a group of small bronze images, originally forming a large mandala of the Diamond Matrix type (vajradhatu mandala), was found near Ngandjuk in eastern Java. Recent scholarship has been able to assign the iconography of the group to a specific text written by an Indian around the end of the tenth or beginning of the eleventh century, thus establishing an approximate time period before which these statues could not have been made, and, consequently, a useful stylistic guide. Many bronzes from this remarkable group have been published. Some were recorded at the time of the find while others seem to have been immediately dispersed.1 It is therefore no longer possible to assign with absolute authority all cognate examples to the original find, even though bronzes such as these two are stylistically and iconographically so close to the known (Ngandjuk) pieces, there seems little doubt that they were originally part of the great mandala. The female playing the conch is one from a large group of celestial musicians, and the Vajrapani is closely matched by a group of Bodhisattvas who hold vajras (stylized thunderbolts) in their right hands.2

Krom. N.J.. "De bronsvondst van Ngandjoek," Rapporten van den Oudheidkundigen Dienst in Nederlansch—Indie. I913. pi. XII—XXIII: Bernet Kempers. A. i.. Ancient Indonesian An. Cambridge, 1959. pi. 168-171 : Bosch. F. D. K„ Selected Studies in Indonesian Archaeology. The Hague. 1961, pi. 1-IV; Lee. S. E.. Asian Art: Selections from the Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller 3rd. New York 1970. no. 29: Fontein. J., et al. Ancient Indonesian Art. New York. 1971. nos. 45-49. See Krom. op. cit.. pi. XII. or Krom. N.J.. Inleiding tol de Hindoe-Javaansche Kunst. 'S—Gravenhage. 1923. pi. 109. (The va/ra Bodhisattvas sit in the lower row.) 21. Kneeling Queen Cambodia, Angkor Period, Baphuon Style, ca. mid-eleventh century Bronze with traces of gold, inlaid with silver Height: ca. 17 inches Purchase, Bequest of Joseph H. Durkee. by exchange, 1973. 1972.147 Plates 16 and 17

This extraordinary sculpture may well be the single most important and beautiful Khmer bronze outside of Cambodia. Kneeling with her left leg beneath her and right knee raised, she lifts her hands above her head in a gesture of adoration. She wears a pleated sarong secured by a sash with jeweled pendents. The left hem of the sarong is folded over, creating a frontal panel of cloth resting between the legs and terminating in the "fishtail" silhouette reminiscent of earlier Khmer styles.1 In addition, jeweled armlets, bracelets, anklets, and a necklace are worn. Her hair is arranged in vertical bands of a quatrefoil motif alternating with a bead motif, and originally there was a kind of topknot on her head. The precision of detail of jewelry, dress, and hairdo shows a particularly high level of metalworking technique. Her eyes are inlaid silver, the pupils and eyebrows hollowed out to receive additional inlays, perhaps of black glass. There seem to be traces of a gold foil, suggesting that this noble lady originally may have been totally encased in a gold skin, a technique not unusual in this part of the world.2 X-rays indicate that the sculpture is hollow cast with an interior armature or core pins. The ring beneath her left leg allowed for attachment to a base. This regal beauty is superbly modeled of soft generalized forms, with a surface made taut as if by an inner expanding energy. The composition of the figure suggests an organic expansion, the narrow contour of the legs, hips and waist blossoming to full shoulders supporting a large head framed by the raised arms. Strong but harmonious visual rhythms and contrasts of form are established by the sharp, diamond-shaped silhouette of the raised arms and the graceful arrangement of the masses of the lower part of the body. The upward visual thrust of the hands has its counterpart in the thrust of the right knee toward the spectator. Altogether this is a magnificently poised and balanced sculpture, successfully conceived from every viewing angle. The statue dates to around the middle of the eleventh century, and is in the style of the Baphuon (ca. 1010-1080). which can be considered the "classic" phase of Khmer sculpture, rooted in the transitional style of Banteay Srei(ca. 967-1000) and contrasting strongly with the more iconic art of the ninth and first half of the tenth centuries. Although large Khmer bronzes are not unknown,3 there are only two other published pieces known to me which closely relate to this sculpture in terms of style, date and quality. The first is the well-known, slightly larger kneeling male figure, also with hands (now missing) raised in adoration, formerly in the Stoclet collection and now in the Musée Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, Brussels;4 and the second, the bust of a colossal reclining Vishnu in the National Museum, Phnom Penh.5 The latter was originally over thirteen feet long, a heroic-sized representation of Vishnu reclining on the great serpent Sesha in the middle of the Cosmic Ocean. It seems to have originally been housed in a small temple at Angkor, the western Mebon, situated in the western Baray, a huge artificial lake.6 Both sculptures have pupils, eyebrows, moustaches, and chin beards hollowed out to accommodate inlays. The Stoclet bronze has retained the original pupil inlay, reported to be of black glass7 (obsidian?), and, to judge from published color illustrations, the bracelets of the Phnom Penh Vishnu are encased in gold.8 It would be most unusual for a reclining Vishnu to be totally unattended, particularly such a major image as the western Mebon Vishnu must have been. Whether the hands of the Stoclet kneeling male or the Metropolitan Museum's kneeling female were raised in adoration of the Mebon Vishnu is no longer ascertainable; the three, however, are so close in style that they are probably the product of the same imperial workshop. Meanwhile, the identification of the kneeling female remains a mystery; her surpassing beauty and regal mien, however, entitle her to the posthumous tentative title of "Queen." An interesting assertion by Dr. Groslier is worth repeating here: ". . . in the Baphuon era the art of working in bronze attained a perfection and a monumental grandeur only surpassed by ancient Greece."9 While this may overstate his case somewhat, careful examination of the kneeling "queen" suggests that he is not too far off the mark.

1. For a clearer rendition of this drapery convention, see Lee. S.E.. Ancient Cambodian Sculpture. New York. 1969. no. 20. 2. The use of inlay was not restricted to metal images; many stone sculptures from both Thailand and Cambodia had inlaid eyes, moustaches and beards. The practice of coating a large bronze image with a more precious metal is attested to by various earlier sculptures from Southeast Asia. See. for example, the Shrivijaya-style Avalokiteshvara in Fontein et al. Ancient Indonesian Art. New York, 1971. p. 34. 3. Giteau, M.. Khmer Sculpture. New York. 1965, fig. 74; Boisselier. J.. "Notes Sur L'art Du Bronze Dans L'Ancien Cambodge." Artibus A.siae. vol. XXIX. no. 4. 1967. fig. 19. 4. Visser, H.F.E., Asiatic Art. New York, 1948. pi. 200. 5. Groslier. B. P.. The Art of Indochina. New York. 1962. p. 131 ; Frederic. L.. The Art of Southeast Asia, New York. 1965, pi. 326; Giteau, op. cit., pi. XV; Rawson. P.. The Art of Southeast Asia. New York. 1967. ill. 65; Hartel, H., and Auboyer. J.. Indien undSudostasien (Propyläen Kunstgeschichte, Band 16). Berlin, 1971. pl. L. 6. For the plan, see Lee. op. cit.. p. 23. 7. Visser, op. cit.. p. 77. 8. See Groslier. Giteau, Rawson. Hartel and Auboyer, op. cit. 9. Groslier. op. cit., p. 132. 22. Standing Vishnu Cambodia, Angkor Period, style of late Baphuon or early Angkor Vat, late eleventh-early twelfth century Bronze Height: 4% inches Lent by Mr. and Mrs. Alvin N. Haas

The usual Khmer preference for the symmetrical frontality of individual icons is apparent in this fine small image of Vishnu. The deity holds a narrow conch shell in his upper sinister hand, the war club in his lower sinister; the upper dexter hand originally held a war discus, and the lower dexter holds what appears to be a lotus bud. He wears a decorated high crown and the usual jewelries. The sampot, the typical short pleated garment worn by males in Khmer art, fits snugly around his hips, its upper hem closely following the hips' contours. In earlier periods, the upper hem of the sampot stood away from the body, making the garment appear to be quite thick. The treatment here approximates sampots of late Baphuon style (ca. 1075), worn high in the back, dipping low over the abdomen, and secured by a narrow jeweled sash. The transitional style of this Vishnu suggests the end of the Baphuon style or the early style of Angkor Vat. The slim and elegant proportions of the figure, and the restrained handling of jewelries and garments, seem to confirm this approximate dating. 23. Vishnu on Adisesha Indonesia or Southern Thailand, ca. eleventh-twelfth century Bronze Height: Ws inches Rogers Fund, 1974.12

This appealing miniature is in many ways enigmatic. The source for its charming composition, indeed its very provenance and date, have eluded me. There are innumerable sculptures showing Vishnu seated on the cosmic serpent, Sesha, in India as well as Southeast Asia, but nothing, so far as I know, comparable either in style or composition to this piece. The curious way in which Vishnu is set at angle, rather than firmly on the serpents, is an aberrant feature. The physiognomy of Vishnu is reminiscent of some Javanese bronze sculptures; the high hairdo of the deity and the halo behind his head derive from South Indian art of the Chola period. Sesha is normally shown as one great serpent, quite different from the imaginatively intertwined trio in this icon. The treatment of this mass of coiled serpents is not Indian in conception; neither is the type of serpent. Perhaps precedents can be found on the facades of Javanese temples. Plate 1, Standing Buddha Plate 2, Seated Buddha Plate 3, Standing Buddha Plate 3, Standing Buddha Plate 4, Padmapani Lokeshvara Seated in Meditation Plate 5, Standing Crowned and Jeweled Buddha Plate 6, Seated Buddha Plate 7, Vajradharma Lokeshvara Plate 8, Standing Parvati 1

Plate 9, Standing Vishnu Plate 10, Seated Bodhisattva, probably Avalokiteshvara Plate 11, Bodhisattva Seated on a Lion Throne Plate 12, Standing Surya Plate 13, Standing Buddha Plate 14, Mirror Handle Plate 15, Vajrapani, and Tara Playing a Conch: Two Seated Deities from a Diamond Matrix Mandala Plate 16, Kneeling Queen Plate 17, Kneeling Queen Cover and photography (plate 16) by Lee Bol tin Catalogue designed by Herbert Schmidt Edited by Shari Lewis Printed by Office Service

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