Virgin Mary - GDC.016Origin: Russia Dimensions: 64" (162.6cm) high x 50" (127.0cm) wide Collection: Russian Icons Style: Russian Orthodox Condition: Very Fine

Virgin Mary - GDC.016Origin: Russia Dimensions: 64" (162.6cm) high x 50" (127.0cm) wide Collection: Russian Icons Style: Russian Orthodox Condition: Very Fine   « Less

The Fang people migrated from the northwest during the 18th and 19th centuries and are today spread out across southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. They are  More »

The Fang people migrated from the northwest during the 18th and 19th centuries and are today spread out across southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. They are primarily hunters but farm as well. Fang social structure is based upon the clan, a group of individuals with a common ancestor, and upon the family. They also maintain tribal cohesion through the So and Ngil societies. Each family possessed a Byeri, or reliquary box, in which the bones of famous ancestors were kept. The box was kept by the Esa, the eldest man in the family. Fang Byeri figures (the guardian statue that surmounts the Byeri box) are usually characterized by a seated male figure. He normally has bent legs, an elongated torso, hands which are usually joined around the stomach, and a head with stylized features that may include inlaid metal eyes. In this case, the figure holds his hands alongside his stomach. Sometimes similar sculptures hold magical divination devices in their hands in order to conjure up spiritual forces. However, this powerful figure needs no tools, for he is able to communicate with the beyond solely with his hypnotic stare. This guardian clearly commands a forceful presence in the mysterious realm of the other world. He functions both as guardians of the spirits of deceased ancestors as well as the protector of our health and benevolence that are influence by the forces from beyond. - (PF.0144)Fang Wooden Byeri Sculpture - PF.0144Origin:Southwestern Gabon/Cameroon Circa: 20 th Century ADCollection: African Art Style: Fang Medium: Wood- brass Condition: Very Fine   « Less

The Mbete group of the Kota peoples reside in Gabon and the Republic of Congo in Africa. The figurative sculptures created by the Mbete evoke the lasting ties linking the  More »

The Mbete group of the Kota peoples reside in Gabon and the Republic of Congo in Africa. The figurative sculptures created by the Mbete evoke the lasting ties linking the realms between the living and dead while keeping the secret materials of ancestral veneration within the relic itself. Unlike other regional reliquary ensembles from the Fang and Kota peoples where relics were attached within a packet or affixed to a sculpture, the Mbete fully integrated the two by concealing the relics within the figure usually in a cavity found in the back.This magnificent creation fuses the aesthetic of two dimensional Kota ancestral representations, which exploit the application of precious metal to a wood surface, with a full body figurative form of Mbete receptacles. Mbete Reliquary Standing Female Figure - DC.1111Origin: Gabon or Republic of Congo Circa: 20 th Century ADCollection: African Art Style: Kota Peoples - Mbete Group Medium: wood, brass, fiber,Condition: Very Fine   « Less

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal  More »

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal of nirvana, a state characterized by freedom from pain, suffering, worry and the external world. Instead these benevolent Boddhisattvas minister eternally to relieve the suffering of all creatures, like archangels, passing from the remote heaven to the world of men. Indeed, this sculpted marble image of the head of the Boddhisattva Guanyin emanates an otherworldliness that bespeaks of spirited compassion and kindness. The Burmese artist who created this sculpture captures through skillful carving a beautiful image, her serene face radiating devotion and tenderness. As we behold this sensitive work of sculpted art we are at once elevated to a height of aesthetic and spiritual awareness that transcends the earthly boundaries of mortal man. - (PF.2537)   « Less

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal  More »

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal of nirvana, a state characterized by freedom from pain, suffering, worry and the external world. Instead, these benevolent Boddhisattvas minister eternally to relieve the suffering of all creatures, like archangels, passing from the remote heaven to the world of men. Indeed, this sculpted marble image of the head of the Boddhisattva Kwan-Yin emanates an otherworldliness that bespeaks of spirited compassion and kindness. The Burmese artist who created this sculpture captures through skillful carving a beautiful image, her serene face radiating devotion and tenderness. As we behold this sensitive work of sculpted art we are at once elevated to a height of aesthetic and spiritual awareness that transcends the earthly boundaries of mortal man. - (PF.2540)   « Less

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal  More »

Noted for her extreme kindness, Guanyin is an ancient Boddhisattva. In the Buddhist religion, Boddhisattvas are beings who have attained enlightenment, but renounce the goal of nirvana, a state characterized by freedom from pain, suffering, worry and the external world. Instead these benevolent Boddhisattvas minister eternally to relieve the suffering of all creatures, like archangels, passing from the remote heaven to the world of men. Indeed, this sculpted marble image of the head of the Boddhisattva Guanyin emanates an otherworldliness that bespeaks of spirited compassion and kindness. The Burmese artist who created this sculpture captures through skillful carving a beautiful image, her serene face radiating devotion and tenderness. As we behold this sensitive work of sculpted art we are at once elevated to a height of aesthetic and spiritual awareness that transcends the earthly boundaries of mortal man. - (PF.2541)   « Less

The ancient capital of Pagan is among the most important historical and archaeological sites in modern Myanmar. Although the city was founded as early as the 9th Century A.D.  More »

The ancient capital of Pagan is among the most important historical and archaeological sites in modern Myanmar. Although the city was founded as early as the 9th Century A.D. along a major bend of the Irrawaddy River, it only became the capital after the establishment of the Pagan kingdom by the great King Anawrahta during the 11th Century A.D. The Pagan period, which lasted until the 14th Century A.D., was a time of great cultural flourishing in which many of the classical models of Burmese sculpture were first established. Buddhism became the state religion, although Hinduism and Animism were not unknown, and many magnificent monasteries, temples, and stupas were constructed during the height of the kingdom. Buddhist sculpture in particular experienced a veritable golden age, due in part to the construction of hundreds temples, each of which would have required at least one cult image.In reference to sculptures of Buddha, the Pagan style can be characterized by a full, plump body without any indication of muscle groups. The shoulders are broad and round as opposed to the relatively narrow waist. In standing sculptures such as this one, the thighs are full and round, almost effeminate, relating to a canonical dictate that the Buddha must have thighs that resemble lotus buds. The face features sharply defined features including downward, half-closed eyes and an aquiline nose that flow into the broad eyebrows. The ears are long and do not touch the shoulders, while the neck often features incised lines or wrinkles which were considered beauty marks. The monastic robes cling to the body and flare outwards from the forearms. This impressive red lacquered sculpture of a standing Buddha displays all the hallmarks of the Pagan style. - (X.0217)   « Less

The Shan people are a distinct ethnic group that today constitute Myanmar’s largest minority group. However, from the 13th until the 16th Century, they dominated most  More »

The Shan people are a distinct ethnic group that today constitute Myanmar’s largest minority group. However, from the 13th until the 16th Century, they dominated most of the country. They traces their origins back to the Tai Kingdom of Mao legendarily founded in 93 B.C. The Tai people rose established numerous small kingdoms across the lands of modern Thailand, Laos. and Myanmar. It is from these independent kingdoms from which the unified Shan state would emerge early in the 13th Century. After successfully repelling the Mongol invasions, Shan armies capture the capital of the rival Pagan Kingdom and entered the period of their greatest power.The Shan are largely Buddhist, and their language and customs are closely related to the Thai and Laotians, their neighbors to the south and east who also trace their ancestry back to the Tai people. In the 19th Century, long after Shan power had eroded, they were distributed among thirty petty states that paid tribute first to the Burman King, then to the British. This arrangement remained more or less in tact until 1922 when the Federated Shan States were joined together. In 1947, a unified Shan States was created under the Burmese Constitution. Although much of their autonomy has been relinquished to the central government, the Shan retain their unique cultural identity and ethnic heritage. - (X.0575)   « Less

Cast in bronze with a heavy copper tone, this sculpture depicts the Tantric divinity, Yama accompanied by his sister, Yami, on a recumbent bull cowering over a prostrate  More »

Cast in bronze with a heavy copper tone, this sculpture depicts the Tantric divinity, Yama accompanied by his sister, Yami, on a recumbent bull cowering over a prostrate female. Yama is one of the dharmapala, defenders of the law who are supposed to wage war without mercy against demons and invoke fear in malignant spirits. The wicked are brought before him to be questioned and judged. Yama is generally accompanied by his sister Yami, whose duty is to look after the female culprits. In this sculpture, Yama assumes the varied form of gsang-sgrub and phyi-sgrub, characterized by a bull's head, glass or onyz beaded third eye, and crown of skulls behind which his hair rises in flame shape. He steps to the right on a bull bedecked with garlands of jewels and skulls, and holds a grigrug (chopper) in his right primary hand and a kapala (skull cap) in his left, which is repeated by Yami as well. His secondary arms wave a skull-face mace and lasso. He is naked aside from jewelled belts, bracelets and a tiger-faced skin covering his right knee. His attitude and expression show great excitement and fury. Yama bears a strong resemblance to Yamantaka, a god of wealth who conquered Yama, also referred pejoratively as the god of death. The two divinities are distinguished by certain identifying marks: Yama wears an ornament representing the Buddhist wheel on his chest and is sometimes accompanied by his sister Yami who is not to be confused with sakti, the personification of female energy of a male divinity, shown embracing with legs wrapped around the waist and one arm around the neck (the yab-yum position). Yamantaka, however, often appears in this latter form with his sakti. - (H.048)   « Less

The representation of Shiva's head in the middle of this deity’s hair-dress, and his third eye (urna) in the middle of his forehead, confirm this image as that of  More »

The representation of Shiva's head in the middle of this deity’s hair-dress, and his third eye (urna) in the middle of his forehead, confirm this image as that of Shiva in one of his major wrathful avataras, Bhairava. Bhairava is an ancient Hindu god, possibly even predating his Shiva’s incarnation, a fearful destroyer who would take pleasure in the destruction of various demons and other evil beings. This spirit, whose name literally means 'terrible', emanates from Shiva's samhara-murti forms and both Hindus and Buddhists (conceived in the form of Mahakala), try to appease him. This large and impressive head of Bhairava probably originally adorned an entrance to a shrine, a familiar feature of Nepali religious architecture. Most probably this face was also designed to be used in processions.His face is adorned with a crown with diadems, snakes, skulls, strings of pearls; the central diadem bearing an image (head) of Shiva. His two large circular earrings are both depicting snakes following the outline of the circle with their heads raised towards the god. He is depicted with flaming locks of hair, a large urna (sign of illumination), a curly beard, a moustache, large eyebrows, and a snake sliding around his neck on top of his elaborate necklace. The worship of serpents or snakes (nagas) has been prevalent in Nepal from a very early time. These benevolent deities are connected with Shiva, being part of his terrifying aspect and symbolize the cycles of time.Bhairava also features a small circular opening in his full mouth, through which a pipe was probably inserted to serve consecrated beer to his devotees. Indeed, in the Newari culture of Nepal, on certain festival days a mask of Bhairava called hathwandya (“ beer-pour god”) is set up and beer or spirits are poured from a tube projecting from a hole in the mouth. Yet this Dionysian type of festival is unique to the Newari culture in Kathmandu.The art of the Malla period reflects the stylistic characteristics and artistic taste of the monarchs, and can be considered a highlight in the art history of Nepal. The high quality of the carving and the lively imagination exemplify the skills of the Newari masters during that period. Typical elements are the pronounced and detailed structure of the head, the shape of the tiara with circular diadems decorated with lotus motifs and jewelry, the shape of the earrings and necklace, both decorated with the same motifs and pearls.The importance of this impressive head is shown by the consistency of high quality pronounced carving. All details are captured within a strong and simple conceptualization with the flaming hair serving as a frame for the main shape. Bhairava is portrayed with a round and lively face, expressing an amazing power. His large circular open eyes and smiling mouth are part of his twofold manifestation; on one hand he is the great destroyer expressing his terrifying aspects needed in order to accomplish his task, on the other hand he reveals an open and friendly humanity as he feels compassion with his devotees. The superbly carved features and the directness of the expressive energies he radiates, make this head of Bhairava among the finest examples known. - (LO.604)   « Less