A Pair of Chinese Wood Figures of Ananda and ... Lot n° 275

A fine pair of wood figures of Ananda and Kasyapa standing on lotus thrones and each dressed in long sleeved flowing robes, wrapped in layers across the body. The youthful Ananda with a shaven head, serenely composed face, elongated ear lobes and with the hands raised and pressed together in nebina gassho, the gesture of the firm and sincere heart. Kasyapa with a shaven head and elongated ear lobes, the forehead, eyebrows, cheeks and mouth fixed deep in frown of concentration. The hands raised and locked together in the in the gesture of kanjo-in, the mudra to accompany the ceremony of unction. The robes of both figures covered with fine fabric under traces of the original dark lacquer and the lotus thrones decorated with the original colours. Ananda and Kasyapa were favorite disciples (luohan) of Sakyamuni and form a trinity with Sakyamuni as the central figure. A pair of Song dynasty bronze figures of Ananda and Kasyapa is illustrated in Gods of the Buddhist Pantheon & Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, Christie's Hong Kong, November 1998, number 1032. A larger wood figure of an arhat (luohan) in the National Museum of History, Taipei, also dated to the Song dynasty and bearing the same fabric and lacquer covering to the wood, is illustrated in Chinese Buddhist Wooden Sculptures from the Sung and Yuan dynasties, page 61. Provenance: From the collection of Drs. A.M. Sengers, acquired from Gerard Hawthron Lts, London in 2000. The Hawthorn Catalogue is included with this lot. Origin: China Period: Ming dynasty 1368-1644, or earlier Sizes: 30.50 cm. H 12.01 in. H