A MONUMENTAL BRONZE HEAD OF BUDDHA, CHIENG SEN STYLE Lan Na Kingdom, Northern Thailand, 15^th century. Finely cast, the serene face with downcast eyes, heavy eyelids under arched eyebrows, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair finely worked in rows of curls, pulled together at the top towards the separately cast ushnisha, which is surmounted by a jewel.

Provenance: Collection of Giovanni Testori and Alain Toubas, acquired in the Italian antiques trade in the 1990s or earlier. Collection of Leonardo Vigorelli, Bergamo, acquired from the above. Giovanni Testori (1923-1993) was an Italian writer, journalist, poet, art and literary critic, dramatist, screenplay writer, theatrical director, and painter. His screenplays were directed by Luchino Visconti during the 1960s. Testori had met Alain Pierre Toubas (1938-2021), his long-time companion, at the end of the 1950s.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, minor losses, small dents, minuscule nicks and cracks. Fine, naturally grown patina, the bronze almost entirely covered with a thin and consistent layer of verdigris, as typical for cast bronzes that have been exposed to exterior weather conditions over an extended period of time.

Dimensions: Height 47 cm (excl. stand) and 66 cm (incl. stand)

Mounted on a modern stand. (3)

This larger than life-size and superbly cast head of the historical Buddha shows him with a sublime inner calm resulting from his deep spiritual compassion. This is enhanced by the remarkably fine, deep-green patina of the bronze. The voluminous face, with its snail-shaped curls, is a solid testimony of the casting workshops of the city of Chieng Sen in the Lan Na kingdom in North Thailand.

Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze statue of Buddha at Christie’s Paris, 13 June 2018, lot 241.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bronze head, 41 cm high, also dated to the 15^th century, at Christie’s London in The Dani & Anna Ghigo Collection, Part I: South East Asian, Himalayan and Indian Works of Art on 11 May 2016, lot 102, sold for GBP 40,000.