Japan, early 14^th century, Kamakura period (1185-1333)

Exceptionally well carved, seated in a relaxed pose imbued with movement, the Buddha one with his grotto-like environment, his movements echoed by his naturalistic throne, with which he almost appears to merge.

The exquisitely serene face is finely carved with heavy-lidded eyes, gently arched brows, a glass-inlaid byakugo (urna), pronounced cheekbones, full lips, and long pendulous earlobes. His features subtly indicate his ascetic character, which is further suggested by the treatment of his slightly emaciated torso, partly obscured by the loose-fitting robe cascading in voluminous folds. His hair is arranged in tight curls over the high, domed ushnisha.

HEIGHT 32.4 cm (excl. stand) and 39.2 cm (incl. stand)

Condition: Superb condition, the wood with natural imperfections including signs of insect activity, at least some of which is inherent to the carving and only adding to the exceptional and breathtaking appearance of the figure. Wear, minor losses, light surface scratches, all as expected.
Provenance: Ex Paris Ancienne Collection Vignier, acquired during the 1930s. Jacques Barrère, Paris, February 2005. Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert, Paris, acquired from the above. A signed expertise from Jacques Barrère, dated 14 February 2005, confirming the dating and provenance above, accompanies this lot. Jacques Barrère took over his mother’s flea market business, specializing in Far Eastern porcelain, cloisonné, and sculpture, in 1969. In the same year, he opened his gallery in Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The current Jacques Barrère gallery has been located on Rue Mazarine for over three decades and specializes in Chinese sculpture, archaeology, ceramics, and decorative arts, as well as Japanese sculpture and porcelain. In 2008, Jacques’ son Antoine Barrère has been running the gallery, bringing a fresh vision in a globalized art market. Objects once owned by Jacques Barrère have been included in major museums around the world, including the Musée Guimet and the Musée Cernuschi, the Shanghai Museum, and the Miho Museum. Liliane and Michel Durand-Dessert were luminous gallery owners who worked in Paris from 1975 to 2004, and were both informed and avant-garde collectors. They are significant not only because of the analytical and original approach the couple applied in each acquisition, but also because of their visionary take on exhibiting the most radical 20th-century art in their gallery, which was the subject of a 2004 retrospective organized by the Museum of Grenoble. According to Michel Durand-Dessert, who was inspired to open the couple’s first gallery by a visit to Documenta in 1968, “it is certain that a collection is a portrait, and that the objects we buy are those in which we sometimes recognize ourselves, sometimes we project ourselves. One way or another, acquiring them means adopting them, in every sense of the word.”

Mounted on an old wood stand.

The present sculpture vividly portrays Siddharta Gautama after renouncing his princely life, practicing extreme asceticism in the wilderness during his search for enlightenment. At the age of 29, Siddhartha left the comforts of his palace to seek answers and spiritual solace. He cut his hair and removed his jewelry. He tried fasting to test his dedication, but the hunger distracted him from meditation. During this time, he realized that such self-punishment was ultimately futile, and he eventually attained enlightenment through meditation and the Middle Path of balance and moderation. Images of the fasting Siddhartha promote this philosophy of moderation.

Depictions of the Buddha as an emaciated ascetic appeared in the ancient kingdom of Gandhara, and later also in Chinese art. It was in the Yuan dynasty that the modelling of Buddha in this manner became popular and a convention in Chinese art. However, according to Sherman Lee and Wai-kam Ho in Chinese Art Under the Mongols: The Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), 1968, p. 124, “the prototype could be traced back at least to Kuan-hsiu's Sixteen Arhats of the Five Dynasties period, or Buddhist paintings of the ninth and tenth centuries showing hermits and the familiar figure of Vasu in Tun-huang and Central Asia.”

Museum comparison:
Compare a related lacquered wood figure of the ascetic Shakyamuni, dated 17^th-18^th century, Edo period, 21.6 cm high, accession number 88.145a-b.

Auction comparison:
Compare a Chinese bronze figure of the ascetic Buddha, dated Yuan to Ming dynasty, 17.2 cm high, at Sotheby’s, 20 September 2022, New York, lot 130 (sold for 50,400 USD). Compare also a related wood sculpture of a seated Buddha, dated 12^th century, 31.6 cm high, at Bonhams, 16 September 2009, New York, lot 3073.