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A MONUMENTAL AND RARE ROCK CRYSTAL SKULL WEARING A GEMSTONE-INLAID GILT-METAL FILIGREE CROWN, 19TH TO FIRST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY
奥地利
03月07日 晚上6点 开拍
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拍品描述
A MONUMENTAL AND RARE ROCK CRYSTAL SKULL WEARING A GEMSTONE-INLAID GILT-METAL FILIGREE CROWN, 19TH TO FIRST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY
This lot is a museum deaccession and is therefore offered without reserve

Tibet or Nepal. Naturalistically carved as a skull mounted with a gilt-metal filigree crown finely inlaid with turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, and bone, featuring four dragons emanating fire, centered to the sides with jewels, the front depicting Acala and the back with Vajrapani striding on a lotus throne amid fire, and surmounted by a rock crystal vajra finial. The crown suspending a beaded garland also inlaid with coral and lapis lazuli framing the forehead. The jaw lined with a beaded band and flames.

Provenance: The Kienzle Family Collection, Stuttgart, Germany. Acquired between 1950 and 1985 by siblings Else (1912-2006), Reinhold (1917-2008), and Dr. Horst Kienzle (1924-2019), during their extensive travels in Asia. Subsequently inherited by Dr. Horst Kienzle and bequeathed to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, Germany. Released through museum deaccession in 2024. The Kienzle siblings were avid travelers and passionate collectors of Asian and Islamic art. During their travels, the Kienzle’s sought out and explored temples, monasteries, and markets, always trying to find the best pieces wherever they went, investing large sums of money and forging lasting relationships to ensure they could acquire them. Their fervor and success in this pursuit is not only demonstrated by their collection but further recorded in correspondences between Horst Kienzle and several noted dignitaries, businesses and individuals in Nepal and Ladakh. Their collection had gained renown by the 1970s, but the Kienzle’s stopped acquiring new pieces around 1985. Almost thirty years later, the collection was moved to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, opened by Peter Hardt in 2014. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter Hardt and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, some of the inlays and filigree work reattached, few inlays renewed, and the stone with natural fissures and inclusions.

Weight: 24 kg
Dimensions: Length 33 cm

Rock crystal skulls in Nepal and Tibet are used as ritual artifacts, often deeply associated with Buddhist and Bon religious traditions. These objects are believed to hold spiritual power and symbolize various aspects of Buddhist philosophy and practice. Skulls in Buddhist art symbolize impermanence, reminding practitioners of the transient nature of life and rock crystal, with its clarity and purity, represents enlightenment and spiritual clarity, offering a balance between the material and spiritual worlds.

Expert’s note:
The use of gemstone inlay and filigree indicate that the present skull was made by a Newari artist in Tibet or working for the Tibetan trade.

Literature comparison:
Tibetan rock crystal objects are extremely rare. Compare a ceremonial ewer, carved from rock crystal and decorated with gemstone inlays and silver filigree, Central Tibet, dated 19th century, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.84.227.2. Compare a related rock crystal head of Ganesha wearing a gilt copper crown, Tibet or Nepal, dated 19th century, 30 cm tall, at Michael Backman, London, inventory number 975.

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价格信息

拍品估价:5,000 - 10,000 欧元 起拍价格:2,600 欧元  买家佣金: 35.00%

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