Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1173, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 3.9" (9.9cm) high x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze,  More »

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1173, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 3.9" (9.9cm) high x 4.5" (11.4cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze, Condition: Extra Fine.   « Less

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1175, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 4.9" (12.4cm) high x 5.3" (13.5cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze,  More »

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1175, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 4.9" (12.4cm) high x 5.3" (13.5cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze, Condition: Extra Fine.   « Less

Bronze Mortar and Pestle - JB.1176, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 1000 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 4.9" (12.4cm) high x 5.8" (14.7cm) wide, Collection: Islamic Art, Style:  More »

Bronze Mortar and Pestle - JB.1176, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 1000 AD to 1200 AD, Dimensions: 4.9" (12.4cm) high x 5.8" (14.7cm) wide, Collection: Islamic Art, Style: Islamic, Medium: Bronze.   « Less

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1178, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 4.7" (11.9cm) high x 8.2" (20.8cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze.

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1178, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 4.7" (11.9cm) high x 8.2" (20.8cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze.   « Less

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1179, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 5.8" (14.7cm) high x 7.7" (19.6cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze,  More »

Bronze Mortar & Pestle - JB.1179, Circa: 11 th Century AD to 13 th Century AD, Dimensions: 5.8" (14.7cm) high x 7.7" (19.6cm) wide, Collection: Islamic, Medium: Bronze, Condition: Extra Fine.   « Less

Ghaznavid Brass Bowl with Incised Decoration - JB.1184, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 10 th Century AD to 11 th Century AD, Dimensions: 5.3" (13.5cm) high x 14" (35.6cm) wide,  More »

Ghaznavid Brass Bowl with Incised Decoration - JB.1184, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 10 th Century AD to 11 th Century AD, Dimensions: 5.3" (13.5cm) high x 14" (35.6cm) wide, Collection: Islamic Art, Style: Ghaznavid, Medium: Brass.   « Less

This bronze Buddha is heavily gilt and exhibits the intricate filigree details found in the most exquisite South-East Asian icons. The Buddha has one hand resting on his leg  More »

This bronze Buddha is heavily gilt and exhibits the intricate filigree details found in the most exquisite South-East Asian icons. The Buddha has one hand resting on his leg with elongated fingers that stretch downward signifying his grounded inner-self. His other hand rests in the symbol of inner peace and unity. There appears to be a container in this hand as well. This container was probably used to hold a live lotus blossom, the symbol of Buddhism itself. The Buddha's elongated earlobes tells of his great wisdom and mental powers. Above him is a four teared canopy. Visually it draws the eye down to the figure and tells of his high status. Spiritually the canopy serves as a type of antennae that draws power from the heavens and instills it into the core of the figure. This piece with its brilliance, great detail and overwhelming sense of meditative power, would make an excellent part of any collection. - (FZ.296)   « Less

Seated in dhyanasana on an oblong throne with incised lotus border, the Buddha clasps his hands in bhumisparsa and dhyana mudras. The delicate features of his oval face  More »

Seated in dhyanasana on an oblong throne with incised lotus border, the Buddha clasps his hands in bhumisparsa and dhyana mudras. The delicate features of his oval face consist of a wide forehead, narrow downcast eyes outlined in black lacquer, small nose and smiling mouth all situated between elongated earlobes touching the ridge of his neck and shoulder line. The hair forms a definitive line, gently covering the rise of the ushnisa surmounted by a bud-shaped finial. The appearance of clothing is obfuscated by the body's fluid lines, however the Buddha's transparent garments surface on one side, evidenced through the incised markings on the chest and folds on the arm.Adoration of the Buddha was often expressed through the production of stone statuary. Devout worshippers touched the divine images, asking for the Buddha's protection and mercy in prayer.The Shan have inhabited the Shan Plateau and other parts of modern-day Myanmar as far back as the 1200s. They are believed to have migrated from the mountains of Yunnan in China. The Shan are descendants of the oldest branch of the Tai ethnicity, known as Tai Long (Great Tai). Shan who migrated to the south and now inhabit modern-day Laos and Thailand are known as Tai Noi (or Tai Nyai), while those in parts of northern Thailand and Laos are commonly known as Tai Noi (Little Tai - Lao spoken). - (H.029)   « Less

This Tibetan gilt bronze portrait of a Karmapa is seated on high lotus throne with a pendant over his knees. He is wearing patchwork monastic robes that are finely stippled  More »

This Tibetan gilt bronze portrait of a Karmapa is seated on high lotus throne with a pendant over his knees. He is wearing patchwork monastic robes that are finely stippled and incised on the borders with floral motifs. He is crowned with a hat of the Kagyu sect. This headdress is adorned with supturned lappets, foliate motifs, and the emblem of the sun and crescent moon. The adoration of Karmapa was often expressed through the production of statuary. Devout worshippers touched the divine images, asking for the Karmapa's protection and mercy in prayer. The coming of the first Karmapa fulfilled a prophecy (mentioned in the Samadhiraja Sutra and the Mahakaruna Pundarika Sutra) by Shakyamuni Buddha that this emanation of the Great Compassionate One (Bodhisattva Chenrezi, Skt. Avalokiteshvara) would appear in the world in order to alleviate the sufferings of sentient beings in the Dark Age. According to predictions, He will be the sixth Buddha in this eon of a thousand Buddhas, the one after the coming of the Buddha Maitreya. He will be known as Buddha Simha, the Lion. The Good Age Sutra says: "...Born into a royal family... His father's name will mean 'Lion Tiger' and His mother's 'Roar of Joy'... In a first wave of dharma He will teach a thousand million beings, in a second wave nine hundred million and in a third wave some eight hundred million..." In the history of Tibet, His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa, the holder of the Black Vajra Crown and the head of the Karma Kagyu Lineage, was the first Tulku to consciously incarnate. The 1st Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa was the foremost disciple of the famous Gampopa from Dakpo. He was born in Doh Kham, in the year of the Iron Tiger (1110 A.D.). Dusum Khyenpa means, He who possesses the extraordinary ability of knowledge of the three times and therefore is able to see into the past, present and future. He founded three main centers: Tolung Tsurphu (the mind mandala of the Karmapas), Karma Gön (the speech mandala) and Kampo Nenang (the body mandala). Of the three, Tsurphu Monastery became the main seat of all the Karmapas. Through Him the Oral Transmission known as the Golden Rosary/or Mala has been passed down in an unbroken lineage until today. The treasure revealer Ngadak Nyang said: "Each moment He will guide countless sentient beings. Whoever sees, hears of, thinks of Him or is touched by Him, will be born in the presence of the Buddha after that life." - (PF.5503)   « Less

The Khmer civilization, today embodied by the temples and ruins of Angkor, one of mankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements, flourished from 802-1431  More »

The Khmer civilization, today embodied by the temples and ruins of Angkor, one of mankind's most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements, flourished from 802-1431 A.D. From the great citadel of Angkor, the kings of the Khmer empire ruled over a vast domain that reached from what is now southern Vietnam to Yunan, China and from Vietnam westward to the Bay of Bengal. The original city was built around the Phnom Bakeng, a temple on a hill symbolizing the mountain that stands in the center of the world according to Hindu cosmology. Successive kings enlarged the city, building other temples devoted to various Hindu deities and large reservoirs used for irrigation, which also symbolized the ocean surrounding the holy central mountain.The Bayon style of Khmer art flourished under the rule of a wise and powerful monarch, Jayavarman VII. The sculpture became more lifelike, reflecting more of a human ideal of beauty than the monumental art of the previous Brahmanic periods. Bayon works combined a tempered realism with an intense expressiveness. The famous “Angkor smile,” as epitomized by this bronze Buddha, dates to this period. The Bayon period was characterized by its allegiance to the Sakyamuni, a temporary religious trend that would only last until the resurgence of Brahmanic sects shortly after the passing of Jayavarman VII. Here, the Sakyamuni stands, forming the double Abhaya Mudra, also known as the Gesture of Fearlessness. This hand gesture symbolizes protection, benevolence, and peace. He wears a skirt and a cape that falls into fish-tale edges. Heavy ornaments weight down his ears, indicative of his aristocratic past. The large conical bump on top of his head, known as an ushnisa, symbolizes his overwhelming wisdom. More than a gorgeous work of art, this sculpture is a memorial to perhaps the most flourishing creative period in the great history of Angkor. - (PF.6209)   « Less