A MASSIVE GILT-LACQUERED MARBLE ‘KEKKU’ STUPA, SHAN STATES, KONBAUNG PERIOD
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

Burma, 1752-1885. Of square form, each side with an arched niche framed by two columns below a foliate design, supported on a tall waisted base and surmounted by a tiered octagonal spire crowned by a bud-form finial.

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (established in 1976), Radevormwald, Germany, before 2020. Acquired by the gallery’s founder Peter Hardt (b. 1946) during his extensive travels, the first of which occurred during a formative world tour in 1973. Throughout his storied career, Peter Kienzle-Hardt organized countless exhibitions and participated in major international art fairs. He made many important contacts during this time and eventually met the Kienzle siblings, who shared his passion for Asian art and culture. A strong bond and deep friendship developed, ultimately leading to the creation of the Museum für Asiatische Kunst decades later in 2014. While the museum’s permanent exhibition predominantly comprised pieces from the Kienzle Family Collection, Peter Kienzle-Hardt supplemented it with objects from his own collection. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Labels: Galerie Hardt, inscribed ‘Stupa Marmor Burma 19. Jhd.’, and priced at EUR 3,250.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, minor losses, small chips, flaking and losses to lacquer, signs of weathering, encrustations, remnants of pigment.

Weight: 11.8 kg
Dimensions: Height 51.3 cm

The Kekku Pagodas, located in Myanmar's Shan State, form an extraordinary complex of over 2,400 stupas, believed to date back as far as the 3rd century BCE, though most were constructed between the 16th and 18th centuries. These stupas, closely clustered together and often intricately decorated with stucco figures, represent the rich Buddhist heritage of the Pa-O ethnic group, who continue to venerate the site. According to local legend, the earliest pagodas were established by missionaries of King Ashoka, lending the site both historical depth and spiritual significance. The Kekku complex remained relatively unknown to outsiders until the late 20th century due to its remote location and political inaccessibility.

The founding of Shan States inside the present-day boundaries of Burma began during the Pagan Kingdom in the Shan Hills and accelerated after 1287 when the Kingdom fell to the Mongols. The Tai people, who came south with the Mongols, stayed, and quickly came to dominate much of the northeastern arc of Burma. The newly founded Shan States were multi-ethnic and included minorities such as the Chin, the Kachin, the Wa, the Ta'ang, the Lisu, the Lahu, the Pa O, and the Kayah. Although Burmanized Shans founded the Ava Kingdom that ruled central Burma, other Shan States, Mohnyin in particular, constantly raided Ava territories throughout the years. A Mohnyin-led Confederation of Shan States finally conquered Ava in 1527.

In 1555, King Bayinnaung dislodged Shan king Sithu Kyawhtin from Ava. By 1557 he went on to conquer all of what would become known as the Burmese Shan States under his rule, from the Assamese border in the northwest to those in Kachin and Shan Hills, including the two most powerful Shan States, Mohnyin and Mogaung. The Shan States were reduced to the status of governorships, but the Saophas (rulers) were permitted to retain their royal regalia and their feudal rights over their own subjects. Bayinnaung introduced Burmese customary law and prohibited all human and animal sacrifices. He also required the sons of Saophas to reside in the Burmese king's palace, essentially hostages, in order to ensure the good conduct of their fathers and to receive training in Burmese court life.