A VERY LARGE PAINTED CLAY VOTIVE STUPA WITH BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
Lot 11 - HS1225

Tibet. The stupa supported on a tiered and waisted stand, centered to the front with a shrine depicting Shakyamuni. The four tiers of square section, decorated with blossoms and corner braces, the mid-section with snow lions framing double-vajras and supporting the upper tiers, surmounted by three hexagonal steps leading to the domed bumpa which is decorated with beaded bands, a tall chattravali, and terminating in a sun and moon symbol. The details picked out in green, red, and blue pigments and with gilt accents. The base covered in fabric.

Provenance: The Kienzle Family Collection, Stuttgart, Germany. Acquired between 1950 and 1985 by siblings Else (1912-2006), Reinhold (1917-2008), and Dr. Horst Kienzle (1924-2019), during their extensive travels in Asia. Subsequently inherited by Dr. Horst Kienzle and bequeathed to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, Germany. Released through museum deaccession in 2024. The Kienzle siblings were avid travelers and passionate collectors of Asian and Islamic art. During their travels, the Kienzle’s sought out and explored temples, monasteries, and markets, always trying to find the best pieces wherever they went, investing large sums of money and forging lasting relationships to ensure they could acquire them. Their fervor and success in this pursuit is not only demonstrated by their collection but further recorded in correspondences between Horst Kienzle and several noted dignitaries, businesses and individuals in Nepal and Ladakh. Their collection had gained renown by the 1970s, but the Kienzle’s stopped acquiring new pieces around 1985. Almost thirty years later, the collection was moved to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, opened by Peter Hardt in 2014. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter Hardt and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, few scratches, small nicks, and the chattravali slightly loose.

Weight: 10.7 kg
Dimensions: Height 73.5 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a gilt copper repoussé votive stupa of similar design, Tibet, dated to the 18^th century, 35.5 cm tall, sold at Sotheby’s Paris, 14 June 2024, lot 210. Compare a gilt-copper alloy stupa of similar form, Tibet, dated late 17^th to early 18^th century, in the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, accession number S2017.34.