Fire-gilded Bronze. China, style of the Tang Period
Buddha sits on a tall, ornamentally crafted lotus throne, similarly open-worked as the nimbus. The lower lotus base is on a table-like pedestal with four, angular, lightly diagonal legs. Shakyamuni, in China Shijiamouni, poses one hand in the gesture of earth touching (calling the earth goddess to witness), the other holds a bowl. The sharp, tapering nimbus features floral tendrils. Gilding partly abraded, some strong patina.
HEIGHT 18 CM
From the collection of Jürgen L. Fischer, Ascona, Switzerland
Jürgen L. Fischer was one of the major European collectors of Chinese art. The extensive size of the collection largely owes to the family’s fortune from the invention of the world-famous “Uhu Alleskleber ” in 1932 (the first synthetic resin glue world-wide) by grandfather August Fischer. Jürgen L. Fischer, who lived until 2013, was an avid collector of Chinese porcelain in an astonishing wide variety, in every size and from every time period. Jürgen Fischer passed on his comprehensive knowledge in numerous specialist books – among others, his large and very instructive book about the art of Chinese snuffbottles and also an antiquarian’s guide to Chinese art.