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Friday, March 29, 2024


Auctions - Asia

Reflection and Enlightenment: Chinese Buddhist Gilt-Bronzes from the Jane and Leopold Swergold Collection

Sotheby’s
5/F One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway,
Hong Kong, People's Republic Of China
Oct 12, 2021


Detail: The brilliant gilt-bronze sculptures collected by Jane and Leopold Swergold provide a window into a glorious period of China’s illustrious history, when the Silk Road opened up a channel to foreign influences and enabled the dissemination of Buddhism and its deep artistic traditions into the Middle Kingdom. China would never be the same again.

Each of the twenty-five bronze sculptures in the collection are unique works of art in themselves, endowed with the dynamic elasticity of movement emanating from the sensitivity of the Indian tradition. As a group, they also encapsulate the development, sinicization and maturity of Chinese sculptural art. The Swergold name will, for posterity, be remembered as one of the most important collections of early Chinese Buddhist bronzes, formed by a couple who advanced the understanding of this esoteric field in the West. The collection is remarkable for the prestigious provenances of the sculptures, representing an encyclopedic list of the great names of 20th century Asian art collecting, including, to name a few, Adolphe Stoclet, Christian Humann, Rafi Mottahedeh, Robert Ellsworth and Ananda Coomaraswamy. It is only appropriate that such unparalleled provenance is associated with a collecting area as important as early Chinese statuary.

It demonstrated great vision for an American couple to focus on this wonderful field, and it is Sotheby’s privilege to present this outstanding collection of early Chinese Buddhist art of a quality rivaling the holdings of the most important museum collections.

Phone No.: +852 2524 8121
Contact Email: [email protected]
Site URL: https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2021/reflection-and-enlightenment-chinese-buddhist-gilt-bronzes-from-the-jane-and-leopold-swergold-collection

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