Norbert Grund (1717-1767) MOSES IS PREPARING TO RECEIVE THE TABLETS OF THE LAW F…

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Norbert Grund (1717-1767)

MOSES IS PREPARING TO RECEIVE THE TABLETS OF THE LAW FROM THE LORD, WHO IS SPEAKING FROM THE SMOKE OF FIRE Oil on copper plate, 34.5x25.5 cm. Moses on Mount Sinai speaks with the Lord in a cloud and receives the tablets of the law from the hands of an angel. The scene portrays a passage from the Bible (Exodus 24:15-18). Biblical motifs were an important part of Grund`s painting legacy, usually from the Old Testament. Unlike galant themes and landscapes, he likely painted these mostly on commission for specific patrons. These included significant religious orders as well as private patrons from the ranks of the nobility and church officials. See, for example, Norbert Grund`s "Jacob Wrestling with the Angel," oil on wood, 13x22 cm, Cistercian Monastery Vyssi Brod: ev. card NG signed O 6994, and especially Norbert Grund`s "Hagar and Ishmael in the Desert," oil on canvas, 20x31 cm, ev. card NG signed O 6982, in the same location. The latter example corresponds not only to somewhat larger dimensions than typical for Norbert Grund, but especially to an identical compositional scheme. Condition A. Preserved in absolutely perfect original condition, without any later restoration interventions, and in the original Viennese frames.

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Norbert Grund (1717-1767)

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Estim. 600 000 - 800 000 EUR

USHNISHAVIJAYA STATUETTE IN PARTIALLY GILDED SILVER AND GILDED COPPER ALLOY CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 17TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1828 17.2 cm (6 3/4 in.) high Footnotes: A PARCEL GILT SILVER AND GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF USHNISHAVIJAYA CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 17TH CENTURY Published Amy Heller, Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spiritual Ideas and Art in Tibet, 600-2000 B.C., 1999, p. 197, no. 105. Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 350, no. 148. Exhibited Buddha: 2000 years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 -19 February 2017. A Spectacular Ushnishavijaya In this superb c. 17th century sculpture from Central Tibet, the goddess Ushnishavijaya appears in her three-headed, eight-armed manifestation.1 She casts her central gaze downward to meet that of her devotees. Her right countenance is serene and similarly downward-cast. The left is fierce and powerful, with fangs exposed and eyes wide and unflinching. In Tibetan Buddhist practice, Ushnishavijaya is invoked to support long-life, purification, and enhanced well-being. Following traditional iconography for her representation, she holds the double vajra (vishvavajra) in front of her heart, an image of Amitabha Buddha in her upper right hand, the arrow, gesture of generosity (varada mudra), bow, and a gesture of protection (abhaya mudra) in the upper left hand. The left hand near her chest once held the sacred cord (pasha); the upward-turned hand in her lap a vase of immortal elixir.2 The body of the goddess is white, here beautifully represented by the silver in which she is cast. The cool metal is used to superb aesthetic effect, contrasting with the warm gold of the base, halo, and adornments and with the vibrant turquoise blue of her inset jewelry. Her faces were once painted, as is evident from the remaining traces of pigment. Traditional iconographic texts describe the central face as white, like her body, her right face as golden or yellow, and her left as red.3 The enhanced power afforded by the pigment can be seen in the fierce left face with its painted eyes. Commissions in silver, a rare and expensive material, were uncommon in Tibet. Another example is a c. 17th century Buddhist goddess in the Nyingjei Lam Collection.4 Like this example, the Nyingjei Lam eight-armed goddess has slender limbs, arranged elegantly around the torso. The lotus petals, halo, and other details in the Bonhams Ushnishavijaya are very similar to those in a c. 17th century sculpture of Ushnishavijaya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (fig. 1; 2007.75a, b). Moreover, its verso is so like that in The Metropolitan Museum Ushnishavijaya as to suggest the two sculptures share an as yet undetermined historical connection.5 More generally, the sculpture expresses elements of Nepalese taste, although it was commissioned for a Tibetan patron, evident in the choice of turquoise stones which were favored in Tibet. Features in the Speelman sculpture can also be found in works created in a famous workshop adjacent to Tashi Lhunpo monastery in Shigatse, Central Tibet. Indeed, the halo of flames surrounding Ushnishavijaya and her lotus base are very similar to those in a c. 17th century Chakrasamvara sculpture formerly in the Claude de Marteau Collection which bears an inscription confirming its connection with the Tashi Lhunpo workshop (fig. 2). The workshop, named Tashikitsel (bkra shis skyid tshal), was established during the tenure of the Fourth Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Gyaltsen (Blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1567-1662), very near to Tashi Lhunpo monastery. It was founded to cultivate excellence in the arts of making sculpture, painting, architecture, and textile arts and crafts. A few published sculptures bear the inscription 'Tashi Lima' ( bkra shis li ma ), recently understood to be an indication that the inscribed sculptures were made in this workshop very close to Tashi Lhunpo monastery.6 A literal translation of the term Tashi lima is 'Auspicious metal' but as Luo Wenhua has noted, its most specific meaning is 'Tashikitsel.'7 Jane Casey January 2024 1. See Marie-Therese de Mallmann, Introduction a l'Iconographie du Tantrisme Bouddhique, Paris, 1975, pp. 389-390 for discussion of her various forms. 2. The roughly contemporaneous gilt copper alloy sculpture of Ushnishavijaya in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fig. 1) retains a fine cord connecting the upper left hand, threading through the bow, and falling into the left central hand. The Metropolitan figure still holds the vase of elixir in the lower left hand, as one envisions was originally held in the Speelman sculpture. 3. Mallmann, 1975, pp. 389-390. See also Himalayan Art Resources set no. 5924: https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=5924. 4. Published in David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet

Estim. 400 - 500 EUR

Allegory of the broad and narrow way. 19th c Oil on panel, 58,5 x 83,1 cm (few sm. scratches and losses, mostly on edges, panel very sl. bent). Curious popular painting in a naive style depicting Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Large composition with all figures bearing their cross. At left the narrow way to heaven. At right the broad way to hell.

Estim. 500 - 600 EUR

Albers, Josef

Estim. 1 000 - 1 300 EUR

Silver medallion with the emblem of the Dutch Virgin. [C. 1788] Oval, 8,5 x 6,3 cm, chiselled and openworked, no punch. In a contemp. carved wooden frame, mod. support lined with green velvet and glass. Superb. The Dutch Virgin is seated with a laurel crown, holding a cornucopia and a spear crested with the Hat of Liberty, supported by the Dutch Lion. Under the radiant gaze of the Almighty, she faces a bust portrait of a sovereign, surmounted by a crowned eagle, supported by a panoply of cannons, cannonballs, spears and flags, on a pedestal bearing the inscription "VEREENNIGT/ 1787 EN 1788". This portrait probably depicts King Frederick William II of Prussia (1744-1797), whose sister Wilhelmina was the consort of Stadhouder William V of Orange, and leader of the dynastic party and counter-revolution in the Netherlands. The two dates refer to two major events of the time: 1) Frederick William intervened with his troops in 1787 to counter the Dutch Revolution and reinstate the Stadhouder, who had to flee Holland in 1785; 2) in 1788 he signed the Treaty of The Hague with England and the States General to guarantee the independence of the United Provinces from France. The mention "Vereennigt" therefore alluded to the rapprochement between the Dutch Republic and Prussia, which claimed to be the protector of the established order.

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