A SANDSTONE FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, ANGKOR BOREI STYLE, PRE-ANGKOR PERIOD Cambodia, 7^th-8^th century. Sensuously carved wearing a diaphanous sanghati, the folds elegantly draped over the elbows and gathered at the ankles, the serene face with almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by long pendulous earlobes, the hair arranged in large snail-shell curls over the ushnisha.

Provenance: French private collection. Tessier-Sarrou, Paris, 26 June 2017, lot 148. PD Collection Paris, acquired from the above.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, nicks and scratches, signs of weathering and erosion, structural cracks, encrustations.

Dimensions: Height 62 cm (excl. stand) and 67 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on an associated metal stand. (2)

Angkor Borei was an important early center of Buddhism and Buddhist temple construction before the establishment of the Khmer Empire. The present figure is characteristic of Angkor Borei sculpture, as seen in the subtle protuberance of the ushnisha and the large snail-shell curls. Sculpture from this early period exhibits the naturalism and grace that echoes the treatment of the body in Gupta-period India, where ornamentation is minimized to emphasize the smooth volume of the form.

Literature comparison: For a related standing figure from Angkor Borei, see H. Jessup and T. Zéphir, Millennium of Glory, Washington, 1997, p. 146-147, fig. no. 2.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related sandstone figure of Buddha, 82.6 cm high, dated 9^th century, at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2012, lot 151, sold for USD 338,500.