A MONUMENTAL (88 CM HIGH) BRONZE HEAD OF CROWNED BUDDHA, PHRA CHAO SONG KHRUANG (‘A LORD WEARING ORNAMENTS’), AYUTTHAYA PERIOD
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

Thailand, circa 17^th-18^th century or earlier (the Ayutthaya period spans from 1351 to 1767 CE). Finely cast with a serene expression marked by heavy-lidded downcast eyes below elegantly arched brows as well as a long aquiline nose and full lips forming a calm smile, flanked by elongated earlobes with pendeloque earrings. The Buddha wears a distinctive-style diadem closely associated with the later Ayutthaya period, combined with a conical ushnisha that has assumed the form of a tier of honorific umbrellas, each of diminishing size, replicating those seen at the summit of Thai stupas.

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: Very good condition with wear and casting irregularities. Small losses, few dents, scattered nicks and scratches, encrustations, and surface abrasion, overall presenting splendidly. Fine, naturally grown patina.

Weight: 32.9 kg (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 88 cm (excl. stand)

With an associated stand. (2)

Expert’s note: It is difficult to conceive just how massive the entire sculpture to which this monumental head originally belonged would have been. Few works of comparable size have survived, and this magnificent head is the largest of its kind in private hands. As can be seen in the present example, Thai artisans were highly skilled at bronze casting and capable of producing monumental figures in seated, standing, and even walking postures. The style of the present Buddha is most associated with standing figures, however, and the complete sculpture probably stood at around four meters tall.

The image of the Buddha wearing a distinctive crown is often described with the popular Thai term Phra Chao Song Khruang (A Lord Wearing Ornaments). The standard depiction of the Buddha throughout the Buddhist world shows him without jewels or other adornment, with distended earlobes signifying the earthly wealth he renounced when he left the palace. In Southeast Asia, however, crowned images of the Buddha were popular in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and then again in the sixteenth century when adorned Buddhas proliferated. The most popular explanation for this contradiction on his common demeanor derives from the Jambupatisutta, which tells the story of the arrogant and boastful king Jambupati. The Buddha appeared before Jambupati, bedecked and bejeweled, thus humbling him. An alternate explanation is that the crowned Buddha is Maitreya, the Buddha of the future, who in this lifetime is a bodhisattva, a situation that may require that he be shown expressing both identities. Maitreya worship was widespread from the sixth century, as Buddhists commonly believe that those born during Maitreya's lifetime automatically achieve enlightenment.

Ayutthaya at this time had one of the most prosperous capitals in the world, with foreign powers clamoring to trade with the 'Kingdom of Siam'. The tide had turned in the Burmese-Siamese wars, when in 1594 Ayutthaya launched its first offensive invasion of Burma rather than the other way around. The early and mid-17th century also saw one of the longest intermissions between major military campaigns during the three-century war. By 1700, it is estimated that the capital had the world's largest population, at around one million. During this time, Ayutthaya furthered its vigorous cultural program, culminating in the highest concentration of Buddhist art perhaps anywhere in the world.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 22 March 2023, lot 366
Price: USD 25,200 or approx. EUR 23,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze head of Buddha, Thailand, Ayutthaya, 15^th-16^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and similar facial expression, crown, and tiered chignon. Note the much smaller size (25.4 cm) and earlier dating.