A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA, SRIVIJAYA PERIOD Indonesia, Sumatra, 9^th-11^th century. Standing in samabhanga on a square base, his main right hand lowered in abhaya mudra and the main left held in karana mudra, the upper hands holding a malla and a sacred text. The serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below arched brows, an urna and full lips forming a subtle smile. The hair in wavy locks pulled into a high chignon centered by a diminutive Amitabha Buddha.

Provenance: A private collection in Jakarta, acquired prior to 1996. A diplomatic collection in Singapore, acquired from the above in Bali via a local art gallery.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age. Extensive old wear, small losses, minor casting flaws, signs of weathering and erosion, small nicks and light scratches, few minuscule cracks. Fine, naturally grown patina with malachite encrustation.

Weight: 2,647 g (excl. base) Dimensions: Height 29 cm (excl. base) and 33 cm (incl. base)

With an old associated wood base. (2)

Srivijaya was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia and was an important center for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th to the 12th century AD. It also was the first unified kingdom to dominate much of the Malay Archipelago. Due to its location, the powerful state over time developed more and more complex technology utilizing maritime resources. The rise of the Srivijayan Empire was therefore also parallel to the end of the Malay sea-faring period.

Literature comparison: For a closely related bronze figure of a four-armed Avalokiteshvara, found in a riverbed at Palembang, Sumatra, in 1930, now at the Museum National, Jakarta, see Versunkene Konigreiche Indonesiens, Roemer- und Pelizaeus-Museum Hildesheim, 1995, cat. no. 9. For a closely related bronze figure of a six-armed Avalokiteshvara, in the National Museum, Bangkok, see The Sculpture of Thailand, Asia House Gallery, 1972, cat. no. 12.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of a six-armed Avalokiteshvara, 44.5 cm high (including the base!), dated to the 9^th century, at Christie’s New York in Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 20 September 2006, lot 202, sold for USD 66,000.