10th Apr, 2025 11:00
TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism
249
A PALE CELADON GLAZED POTTERY BUST OF A DVARAPALA, SAWANKHALOK, SUKHOTHAI PERIOD, 14TH-15TH CENTURY
Sold for €2,340
including Buyer's Premium
Thailand. The guardian with a fierce expression marked by bulging eyes below bushy brows, the mouth agape revealing sharp fangs above the prominent chin, the head surmounted by an ornate helmet. His chest is adorned with an elaborate pectoral centered by a floral emblem, his hands held before the belly and the wide shoulders decorated with armlets. The body covered in a pale grayish-green glaze pooling in the recesses, the eyes accentuated in black.
Provenance: North American trade. Acquired from an old private estate, where the statue has been preserved for a long time, by family repute.
Condition: Overall condition commensurate with age showing expected wear, weathering, manufacturing irregularities, obvious losses, old repairs and touchups, chips. Some flaking, natural oxidation and crackling to glaze. Good patina.
Weight: 25 kg
Dimensions: Height 68 cm
The kingdom of Sukhothai (mid-1200s-1438) produced ceramics at a number of kilns in two areas, the vicinity of the city of Si Satchanalai (also known as Sawankhalok) and the vicinity of the city of Sukhothai itself. A variety of vessel types was made in both areas, as were architectural components such as roof tiles and decorative roof fixtures. (Examples of decorative roof fixtures may be seen high on the walls of this gallery.)
Production continued at these kilns for more than a century after the kingdom of Sukhothai was incorporated into the central Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya, or Siam, in 1438. One of the primary routes by which Sawankhalok and Sukhothai ceramics reached the sea to be shipped abroad was through the city of Ayutthaya, a major trading center strategically located on a navigable river. The economic value of the huge ceramics trade must have been great.
Sawankhalok wares were usually made of fine, buff-colored clay. They were covered in glazes of dark brown, off-white, or celadon green. Alternatively, they were decorated with dark brown painted designs under a clear glaze. Other decorative techniques included carving the surface before glazing, scratching designs through a brown glaze to reveal the white body beneath, and modeling three-dimensional decorative elements in clay and adhering them to the surface before firing. All of these glazing and decorating techniques may be seen in examples in this case.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Sawankhalok guardian figure dated to the 15th century, 89.6 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1984.491.5a, b. Compare a related Guardian figure, Thailand, dated to the 15th century, in the Harn Museum of Art, object number 2007.14.
Thailand. The guardian with a fierce expression marked by bulging eyes below bushy brows, the mouth agape revealing sharp fangs above the prominent chin, the head surmounted by an ornate helmet. His chest is adorned with an elaborate pectoral centered by a floral emblem, his hands held before the belly and the wide shoulders decorated with armlets. The body covered in a pale grayish-green glaze pooling in the recesses, the eyes accentuated in black.
Provenance: North American trade. Acquired from an old private estate, where the statue has been preserved for a long time, by family repute.
Condition: Overall condition commensurate with age showing expected wear, weathering, manufacturing irregularities, obvious losses, old repairs and touchups, chips. Some flaking, natural oxidation and crackling to glaze. Good patina.
Weight: 25 kg
Dimensions: Height 68 cm
The kingdom of Sukhothai (mid-1200s-1438) produced ceramics at a number of kilns in two areas, the vicinity of the city of Si Satchanalai (also known as Sawankhalok) and the vicinity of the city of Sukhothai itself. A variety of vessel types was made in both areas, as were architectural components such as roof tiles and decorative roof fixtures. (Examples of decorative roof fixtures may be seen high on the walls of this gallery.)
Production continued at these kilns for more than a century after the kingdom of Sukhothai was incorporated into the central Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya, or Siam, in 1438. One of the primary routes by which Sawankhalok and Sukhothai ceramics reached the sea to be shipped abroad was through the city of Ayutthaya, a major trading center strategically located on a navigable river. The economic value of the huge ceramics trade must have been great.
Sawankhalok wares were usually made of fine, buff-colored clay. They were covered in glazes of dark brown, off-white, or celadon green. Alternatively, they were decorated with dark brown painted designs under a clear glaze. Other decorative techniques included carving the surface before glazing, scratching designs through a brown glaze to reveal the white body beneath, and modeling three-dimensional decorative elements in clay and adhering them to the surface before firing. All of these glazing and decorating techniques may be seen in examples in this case.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Sawankhalok guardian figure dated to the 15th century, 89.6 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1984.491.5a, b. Compare a related Guardian figure, Thailand, dated to the 15th century, in the Harn Museum of Art, object number 2007.14.
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