A HIGHLY IMPORTANT SCULPTURE OF BUDDHA
Kashmir, Early 8th Century
Gilded Bronze
Height: 6.25 in (16 cm)
Width: 4.5 in (11.5 cm)
Depth: 3.25 in (8.5 cm)
NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY
PROVENANCE
Formerly in the Collection of Late Nalini and Haridas Swali, Mumbai
Thence by descent to Rajeya Swali, up to 2015
Private Collection, Mumbai
PUBLISHED
Douglas Barrett, "Bronzes From Northwest India and Western Pakistan", Karl Khandalavala and Moti Chandra eds, Lalit Kala No 11, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, April 1962 (illustrated)
Bronzes from the picturesque mountains of Kashmir (circa 7th - 10th centuries) represent one of the most refined traditions of early Himalayan metal sculpture, blending late Gupta elegance with distinctive regional features of the valley. Typically, a bronze from Kashmir is very different from those produced by dynasties like the Cholas. They are like jewels, measuring between 4 and 8 inches with very few examples reaching around a foot in height. Hence, a 7-inch Kashmir bronze would be considered far rarer and more important than a 30- inch Chola, not to mention the fact that they are far fewer in number. Bronzes from Kashmir are also much rarer than the ones from neighbouring Swat and Gandhara which sometimes turn up in auctions. Within the Kashmir genre, bronzes from the first half, i.e. 7th to the 8th centuries are the rarest to come by.
The finest examples of Kashmir bronzes were acquired very early on by the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum followed by the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Although a handful of good examples exist in private hands, very few of such exceptional quality have come up in public auctions in over 40 years. Over the years, museums were quick to acquire the important new arrivals directly from dealers.
This mesmerising early Kashmir bronze shows Buddha seated in vajraparyankasana, the meditative posture of enlightenment. His monastic robes are seen flowing down in rhythmic folds with one end of the robe at the back in an open twirl. One hand clutches his robe while the other extends and points towards the earth in bhoomisparsha mudra. The drapery pleats fall to the pedestal, a feature considered very early for a Kashmir bronze. Each finger is modelled distinctly and in detail, a rare detail also seen in a similarly dated important Gupta Buddha in the British Museum. The posture, lotus pedestal and robe treatment compares with another important Kashmir bronze in the Metropolitan Museum. The fine treatment imparted to the bottom folds of the robe near the ankles seems to be inspired by the preceding Gupta imagery. To gauge the attention to detail one needs to look at the feet. The extended right hand in bhoomisparsha actually presses the tips of the toes which are minutely visible when the sculpture is tilted sideways. The lotus pedestal in this sculpture is a work of art by itself. The petals are cushion-like with the ends showing slight curvature. Smaller petals are also seen emerging between the larger ones.
The most important highlight of this sculpture is the quality of the face. It is softly rounded and tapers gently at the chin. The long eyes have the typical Kashmiri upward curve, with the tips extending as eyelashes. They are silver inlaid, an important determinant of the quality of the work. The nose is well-defined, and the outstandingly well-chiselled lips have a reassuring radiant smile with a spiritual calm. One of the most commonly seen problems in Kashmir bronzes is that the faces are often either completely washed off or faintly visible. This problem is absent in this example. Although the sculpture emits an intimacy due to its size, the well-preserved 1300-year-old gold gilding gives it the gravitas of a large icon.
Douglas Barrett, a former curator of Indian art at the British Museum, described this sculpture in 1962 as “an unusually fine seated Buddha with a lovely golden colour.” (Douglas Barrett, Lalit Kala No 11, 1962, p. 41) Beyond doubt, this sculpture is among a handful of the most important museum-quality surviving early Kashmir bronzes. Barrett was one of the foremost British art historians and scholars of Indian art in the 20th century and a distinguished curator at the British Museum. Barrett combined rigorous stylistic analysis with deep historical insight, producing foundational studies on Indian sculpture, bronzes, and painting. Among his many contributions, his work on early Indian metalwork helped clarify the distinctive character of Kashmir bronzes, distinguishing their refined physiognomy, elegant proportions, and technical sophistication within the broader Himalayan and North Indian traditions. His publications remain essential references, and his judgments continue to carry weight in the fields of Indian and Himalayan art history.
FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE NALINI AND HARIDAS SWALI
Haridas Swali was a banker who became interested in Indian antiquities at an early age. He began with Nepalese art and soon ventured into almost every stream of Indian antiquities. Constant interaction with experts like Moti Chandra, Pratapaditya Pal, Nawab Sarabhai, and Karl Khandalavala, among others, helped him widen his horizons. However, when it came to decision-making, he had a mind of his own. A visionary for his times with unsurpassed knowledge, he was often able to understand and acquire rare and important art much before the wealthy industrialist collectors of the day could even comprehend it. This bronze sculpture was, by his own admission, the most important object in his entire collection, amassed from the 1950s. This fact is reaffirmed by both his son Rajeya Swali as well as Deepak Natesan, a close family confidant who had the opportunity to view the collection in its entirety and also handle several of the objects.
Early book covers, palm-leaf manuscripts, a lovely Chola bronze Parvati, and a monumental Chalukyan Jina were once part of this eclectic collection. An exceptional Gnor Mandala, a bronze Mila Repa, Vasundhara, and one of the greatest Nepalese book covers were counted among his important Himalayan works. The famous Haridas Swali Bal Gopal Stuti miniatures (among the earliest Indian miniatures on paper) are the best-preserved Bal Gopal Stuti paintings in the world. The renowned scholar-collector Gursharan Sidhu adds that they are also the second oldest after the Boston Museum set. His acquisitions from the Sarabhai Manilal Nawab collection are testimony to his expertise-a small set of early paintings of a quality unseen in any museum or private collection in the world. His wife Nalini, who was a product of the JJ School, shared his passion for the arts. Objects from the Swali collection travelled around the world and back for the Festival of India exhibitions, and several have been published right from the 1950s onwards by legendary historians like C Sivaramamurti, Douglas Barrett, Moti Chandra, and Pratapaditya Pal.
“If there was a fire in the house and you were to save one sculpture, what would you choose?” Haridas Swali asked his teenage daughter. “The answer my child is our Kashmir Buddha.”
Kashmir, Early 8th Century
Gilded Bronze
Height: 6.25 in (16 cm)
Width: 4.5 in (11.5 cm)
Depth: 3.25 in (8.5 cm)
NON-EXPORTABLE REGISTERED ANTIQUITY
PROVENANCE
Formerly in the Collection of Late Nalini and Haridas Swali, Mumbai
Thence by descent to Rajeya Swali, up to 2015
Private Collection, Mumbai
PUBLISHED
Douglas Barrett, "Bronzes From Northwest India and Western Pakistan", Karl Khandalavala and Moti Chandra eds, Lalit Kala No 11, New Delhi: Lalit Kala Akademi, April 1962 (illustrated)
Bronzes from the picturesque mountains of Kashmir (circa 7th - 10th centuries) represent one of the most refined traditions of early Himalayan metal sculpture, blending late Gupta elegance with distinctive regional features of the valley. Typically, a bronze from Kashmir is very different from those produced by dynasties like the Cholas. They are like jewels, measuring between 4 and 8 inches with very few examples reaching around a foot in height. Hence, a 7-inch Kashmir bronze would be considered far rarer and more important than a 30- inch Chola, not to mention the fact that they are far fewer in number. Bronzes from Kashmir are also much rarer than the ones from neighbouring Swat and Gandhara which sometimes turn up in auctions. Within the Kashmir genre, bronzes from the first half, i.e. 7th to the 8th centuries are the rarest to come by.
The finest examples of Kashmir bronzes were acquired very early on by the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum followed by the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena. Although a handful of good examples exist in private hands, very few of such exceptional quality have come up in public auctions in over 40 years. Over the years, museums were quick to acquire the important new arrivals directly from dealers.
This mesmerising early Kashmir bronze shows Buddha seated in vajraparyankasana, the meditative posture of enlightenment. His monastic robes are seen flowing down in rhythmic folds with one end of the robe at the back in an open twirl. One hand clutches his robe while the other extends and points towards the earth in bhoomisparsha mudra. The drapery pleats fall to the pedestal, a feature considered very early for a Kashmir bronze. Each finger is modelled distinctly and in detail, a rare detail also seen in a similarly dated important Gupta Buddha in the British Museum. The posture, lotus pedestal and robe treatment compares with another important Kashmir bronze in the Metropolitan Museum. The fine treatment imparted to the bottom folds of the robe near the ankles seems to be inspired by the preceding Gupta imagery. To gauge the attention to detail one needs to look at the feet. The extended right hand in bhoomisparsha actually presses the tips of the toes which are minutely visible when the sculpture is tilted sideways. The lotus pedestal in this sculpture is a work of art by itself. The petals are cushion-like with the ends showing slight curvature. Smaller petals are also seen emerging between the larger ones.
The most important highlight of this sculpture is the quality of the face. It is softly rounded and tapers gently at the chin. The long eyes have the typical Kashmiri upward curve, with the tips extending as eyelashes. They are silver inlaid, an important determinant of the quality of the work. The nose is well-defined, and the outstandingly well-chiselled lips have a reassuring radiant smile with a spiritual calm. One of the most commonly seen problems in Kashmir bronzes is that the faces are often either completely washed off or faintly visible. This problem is absent in this example. Although the sculpture emits an intimacy due to its size, the well-preserved 1300-year-old gold gilding gives it the gravitas of a large icon.
Douglas Barrett, a former curator of Indian art at the British Museum, described this sculpture in 1962 as “an unusually fine seated Buddha with a lovely golden colour.” (Douglas Barrett, Lalit Kala No 11, 1962, p. 41) Beyond doubt, this sculpture is among a handful of the most important museum-quality surviving early Kashmir bronzes. Barrett was one of the foremost British art historians and scholars of Indian art in the 20th century and a distinguished curator at the British Museum. Barrett combined rigorous stylistic analysis with deep historical insight, producing foundational studies on Indian sculpture, bronzes, and painting. Among his many contributions, his work on early Indian metalwork helped clarify the distinctive character of Kashmir bronzes, distinguishing their refined physiognomy, elegant proportions, and technical sophistication within the broader Himalayan and North Indian traditions. His publications remain essential references, and his judgments continue to carry weight in the fields of Indian and Himalayan art history.
FORMERLY IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE NALINI AND HARIDAS SWALI
Haridas Swali was a banker who became interested in Indian antiquities at an early age. He began with Nepalese art and soon ventured into almost every stream of Indian antiquities. Constant interaction with experts like Moti Chandra, Pratapaditya Pal, Nawab Sarabhai, and Karl Khandalavala, among others, helped him widen his horizons. However, when it came to decision-making, he had a mind of his own. A visionary for his times with unsurpassed knowledge, he was often able to understand and acquire rare and important art much before the wealthy industrialist collectors of the day could even comprehend it. This bronze sculpture was, by his own admission, the most important object in his entire collection, amassed from the 1950s. This fact is reaffirmed by both his son Rajeya Swali as well as Deepak Natesan, a close family confidant who had the opportunity to view the collection in its entirety and also handle several of the objects.
Early book covers, palm-leaf manuscripts, a lovely Chola bronze Parvati, and a monumental Chalukyan Jina were once part of this eclectic collection. An exceptional Gnor Mandala, a bronze Mila Repa, Vasundhara, and one of the greatest Nepalese book covers were counted among his important Himalayan works. The famous Haridas Swali Bal Gopal Stuti miniatures (among the earliest Indian miniatures on paper) are the best-preserved Bal Gopal Stuti paintings in the world. The renowned scholar-collector Gursharan Sidhu adds that they are also the second oldest after the Boston Museum set. His acquisitions from the Sarabhai Manilal Nawab collection are testimony to his expertise-a small set of early paintings of a quality unseen in any museum or private collection in the world. His wife Nalini, who was a product of the JJ School, shared his passion for the arts. Objects from the Swali collection travelled around the world and back for the Festival of India exhibitions, and several have been published right from the 1950s onwards by legendary historians like C Sivaramamurti, Douglas Barrett, Moti Chandra, and Pratapaditya Pal.
“If there was a fire in the house and you were to save one sculpture, what would you choose?” Haridas Swali asked his teenage daughter. “The answer my child is our Kashmir Buddha.”