Object Details
Label
With a straight spine and wide shoulders, the Buddha sits in meditation on a lobed lotus pedestal, beneath the canopy of a separately cast Bodhi tree. A flat back plate surrounds him with radiating flames and naga finials. Rows of miniature Buddhas encircle the square base. The surface is covered with a lustrous green patina flecked with blue.
This sculpture was discovered along with six other Khmer bronze images that were excavated from a site in Vietnam in 1919. The group includes Buddhist and Hindu deities and ritual objects, all of which are small in scale. At less than a foot high, the Freer bronze is the largest. After a French forest ranger discovered them, the bronzes made their way into American museums in Boston, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Detroit, Kansas City, and Washington, DC.
Little research has been done on the origins of the group--where the sculptures were made, how they were used, and why or how they traveled remains unknown. For centuries, portable bronze figures were instrumental in the spread of Indian traditions across Asia. The small stature of these bronzes suggests several possible purposes. Some of them may have been battle standards carried in royal or ritual processions, as relief carvings from temples in the Angkor area show such objects. The seemingly deliberate burial suggests that the group was a consecration deposit or sacred offering for a temple.
Provenance
As early as 1898
Found and excavated by an unidentified French official near Biên Hòa, Đồng Nai Province, Vietnam [1]
By 1919 to 1930s
M. Bouasse-Lebel (1868-1955), purchased from the unidentified French official [2]
1930s-1937
Paul Mallon (1884-1975), from M. Bouasse-Lebel, method of acquisition unknown [3]
From 1937
Freer Gallery of Art, purchased from Paul Mallon [4]
Notes:
[1] In a letter dated 15 April 1937, from the art dealer Paul Mallon (1884-1975) to the Freer Gallery of Art, Mallon notes that the French official was digging for moonstone when he discovered this bronze along with several other sculptures sometime during the year 1898. The letter also notes that the sculptures entered into Lebel's collection in 1919. Sherman Lee dates the discovery of the buried objects to 1919 instead. See Sherman Lee, "A Cambodian Bronze Hoard" in Art in America Vol. 31, no. 2 (1943), pp. 78-83. This sculpture was discovered along with six other Khmer bronze images that were excavated from a site in Vietnam. The group includes Buddhist and Hindu deities and ritual objects, all of which are small in scale. Little research has been done on the origins of the group--where the sculptures were made, how they were used, and why or how they traveled remains unknown.
[2] See letter from Paul Mallon and Lee article referenced in note 1. M. Bouasse-Lebel may be the dealer and collector Albert Bouasse-Lebel and/or a member of the family operating the Bouasse-Lebel printing and engraving firm on Rue Saint-Sulpice in Paris.
[3] See "Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List After 1920," notations in object file.
[4] The Freer Gallery of Art purchased from Paul Mallon on June 2, 1937. See notation on the object receipt, April 14, 1937, copy in accession file.
Research completed October 29, 2021.
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Exhibition History
Hindu and Buddhist Art (April 1, 1982 to July 18, 1983)
Previous custodian or owner
Albert Bouasse-Lebel (1868-1955)
Paul Mallon (1884-1975)
Credit Line
Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment
Date
12th century
Period
Angkor period
Accession Number
F1937.29a-d
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Type
Sculpture
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H x W: 13.2 x 30 cm (5 3/16 x 11 13/16 in)
Origin
Northern Thailand
Related Online Resources
Google Arts & Culture
NMAA Southeast Asia
See more items in
National Museum of Asian Art
Data Source
National Museum of Asian Art
Topic
casting
metal
bronze
Buddhism
Buddha
Angkor period (802 - 1431)
Cambodia
dhyana mudra
Southeast Asian Art
Link to Original Record
Record ID
fsg_F1937.29a-d