Ancient region of Funan, Mekong Delta, 7^th century. Well carved standing, holding a conch and disk in his uppermost hands, each connected by carved brackets to the cylindrical headdress, wearing a pleated sampot, the serene face with almond-shaped eyes and full lips forming a calm smile, flanked by long pierced pendulous earlobes.

Provenance: From a notable collector in London, United Kingdom.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, encrustations, losses, signs of weathering and erosion, minor nicks, cracks and scratches.

Dimensions: Height 50 cm (excl. base) and 75 cm (incl. base)

Mounted on an associated base. (2)

The present figure encapsulates the subtle elegance of the late Funan style; the confident, noble presentation represents an established local aesthetic, although some aspects of its appearance recall the Indian Gupta tradition. Nevertheless, the embellishment one would find in north Indian sculpture of the period is absent, enhancing the svelte physique and cerebral strength, without reducing the sense of majesty. The slender body form replicates the ethnic Southeast Asian appearance, being both fine boned but physically powerful. Vishnu stands in a slightly relaxed pose, with his right knee bent; his chest and shoulder muscles are enlarged to accommodate the four arms and the effect is elegant both at the front and the back, illustrating an understanding of human anatomy, which is not always evident in sculptures of the period. The short, thick neck is widened further by the long ears and strengthens the otherwise vulnerable area around the head. The face has strong features, arched eyebrows and a generous, sensitive mouth encapsulating the beauty of the finest Funan images.

Vishnu wears a knee-length garment, a practical local fashion, unlike the long robes of earlier sculptures that maintain the Gupta, Indian tradition. This garment, the sampot can kpin, is created from a long length of cloth wound once around the body and then pleated to form a scarf that passes between the legs from back to front, fastening at the waist. The central pleat provides additional reinforcement to the sculpture.

Stone images from the late Funan period reflect an extraordinary degree of confidence and technical expertise; this suggests that sculptors followed prototypes evolved during earlier centuries that have not survived. Unlike their Indian contemporaries, who preferred to work in the relatively easily carved sandstones, Funan’s sculptors seem to have deliberately chosen hard, difficult-to-work stones. There was a shortage of workable stone in the region; the earliest stone sculptures were possibly fashioned from boulders retrieved from the River Mekong and carried downstream during the annual floods. Later on, stone was carefully sourced and brought to the delta region.

Almost all found stone sculptures in the Phnom Da style seem to belong to the realm of Vishnu and his incarnations, like this example. The Phnom Da style also seems rather homogenous compared to other stylistic phases.

Expert’s note: A detailed academic commentary on the present lot, elaborating on the history and art of Funan as well as the evolution of Vishnu images in the Mekong Delta, and showing many further comparisons to examples in both public and private collections, is available upon request. To receive a PDF copy of this academic dossier, please refer to the department.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related sandstone figure of Vishnu, attributed to Southern Vietnam and dated late 6^th to early 7^th century, 56 cm high, in the collection of the Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, reference number BTMT 187, exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia, 5th to 8th Century, April 14, 2014–July 27, 2014, cat. no. 67. Compare a closely related stone figure of Vishnu, dated to the second half of the 7^th century, 96.5 cm high, also originally with structural supports between the crown and attributes which are lost, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1992.53. Compare a related stone figure of Harihara, dated to the first half of the 8^th century, 94 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1993.387.5.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s Paris, 20 November 2003, lot 407
Price: EUR 43,475 or approx. EUR 63,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A sandstone figure of Vishnu, pre-Angkor, Phom Da style, 7^th century
Expert remark: Note that the figure is carved from soft sandstone (unlike the present lot) and is of slightly smaller size (43 cm).