A very large Mandalay lacquered wood altar and throne along with a bronze figure of Buddha Shakyamuni. Burma. Late 19th century/early 20th century
The stepped base with indented corners and flame-like ornaments surmounted by a rectangular throne (palin) on a moulded base with a concave middle section bearing a rectangular protruding plate. All three sides decorated in thayo technique with ornaments and flowers embellished with mirror glass stones. The horizontal areas lacquered cinnabar red. Inserted in the back a flat ornamented board with side panels and a pointed arch carved in openwork with scrolling foliage, adorants and lions.
The figure of Buddha seated in meditation, the right hand in bhumisparsa mudra, the left hand held in dhyana mudra above the feet, on a low stepped base. They eyes inlaid and the eye pupils of black lacquer. Together with a stand for an offering vessel.
Total height 252 cm; width 155 cm; depth 124 cm; height of the Buddha 95.5 cm
Provenance
Private collection, Southern Germany
Literature
Compare the Mandalay altar in the Lindenmuseum Stuttgart, illustrated in G. Kreisel, Linden-Museum Stuttgart Südasien-Abteilung, Stuttgart 1987, p. 113 and a much larger altar, described as shrine with a Buddha of gilt and lacquered wood, other figures and an array of offering vessels in the British Museum, London, illustrated in R. Isaacs und T. R. Blurton, Visions from the Golden Land, Burma and the Art of Lacquer, British Museum London 2000, cat. no. 71.