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A RUBY AND TURQUOISE INLAID SILVER FIGURE OF INDRA, NEPAL, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
奥地利
04月16日 下午5点 开拍 /14天2小时
拍品描述
Expert's Note: Larger silver figures, sometimes richly inlaid with rubies and turquoises, represent the highest level of late Nepalese metalwork and were made in limited quantities near the end of the Malla period, circa between 1650 and 1769, when Newar artisans worked under refined court and monastic patronage in the Kathmandu Valley. During this period, silver—an exceptionally costly and symbolically charged material—was reserved for the most prestigious religious commissions, with gemstone inlay used to emphasize devotional (and sometimes royal) significance. The present figure's controlled chiseling and detailed incision work, balanced ornament, and integrated use of gemstones are hallmarks of this kind of mature late Malla workmanship.After the fall of the Malla courts in 1769, the political and economic conditions necessary for silver commissions of a certain size largely disappeared. Silver was increasingly recycled, and later production focused on smaller ritual or decorative objects rather than large-scale sculpture. A 20th-century origin of the present lot can easily be excluded: modern export works are typified by light construction, excessive ornament, and purely decorative gemstone application, all fundamentally at odds with the substantial silver weight, compositional clarity, and stylistic restraint evident here.Finely cast seated in a languid pose with his right leg elegantly folded over the left, the relaxed right arm resting on his knee, and the left extended to the side, supporting the weight of the deity. The Vedic God wearing a diaphanous dhoti, turquoise- and ruby-inlaid foliate jewelry, neatly beaded, and a tall headdress inlaid with further stones and with incised scrollwork.His face gently modeled in a serene expression with a delicately incised third eye, downcast eyes and mouth set in a gentle smile, flanked by a pair of distinct circular earrings, one ribbed and the other applied with raised medallions. Provenance: From a private collection in London, United Kingdom. Condition: Very good condition with wear and casting irregularities. Old metal fills, probably inherent to the manufacture. Small fissures, scattered dings and nicks, expected tarnish, obvious losses and replacements to inlays. Overall displaying exceptionally well.Weight: 5.3 kg (incl. base) Dimensions: Height 25.3 cm (excl. base), 30.4 cm (incl. base)Firmly mounted on a modern metal base. (2)Indra, the Vedic god of rain and king of the heavens, holds a prominent place in Nepalese religious art, particularly within the Kathmandu Valley where he is venerated in both Hindu and Buddhist traditions. His image is distinct to Nepal, characterized by his tall mitre-style crown and third eye, whose early appearance has been identified on an 8th century Licchavi period sculpture (see Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 307, no. 75D). His high crown becomes more convex in the 12th century (ibid., p. 325, no. 84E) and increasingly taller and filled with decorative elements in the Early Malla period (ibid., p. 346, no. 89A).Expert's note on metallurgy:XRF readings identified a silver alloy composed primarily of Ag (~87%) with minor Cu (~9%) and Zn (~4%), and trace Pb. Ag-Cu alloys of this type are typical for historical silver objects, as the addition of Cu improves hardness and workability. Small amounts of Zn are occasionally encountered in traditional silver alloys. Overall, the results are consistent with historically produced silver alloys of the type commonly encountered in Himalayan metalwork of the 17th and 18th centuries.Literature comparison:Compare a closely related gilt-metal figure of Indra seated in the same pose, illustrated by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources, under the thematic set “Indian Deity: Indra (Shakra) Masterworks,” item number 19701.Auction result comparison: Type: RelatedAuction: Christie's New York, 22 March 2011, lot 80Price: USD 602,500 or approx. EUR 650,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing: A gilt bronze figure of Indra, 15th - 16th centuryExpert remark: Compare the related modeling and incision work, the inlays, the pose, and the size (30.8 cm). Note that this example is dated significantly earlier than the present lot.

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拍品估价:3,000 - 6,000 欧元 起拍价格:3,000 欧元  买家佣金:

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