894 - Seated bronze figure of a man, Dong Son culture, Northern Vietnam, second half of the 1st millennium B.C. – 1st century A.D.

Seated bronze figure of a man, Dong Son culture, Northern Vietnam, second half of the 1st millennium B.C. – 1st century A.D. A man seated on a rattan stool with a round base and curved struts on the sides, wearing an ankle-length robe with rich drapery below the hips. The short-sleeved tunic is smooth and decorated with horizontally striped borders along the edges and across the chest. On the chest, to the left and right, dots arranged in a ring around a central point. The same pattern appears on both shoulders and cheeks. The facial features are sculpted in a three-dimensional and striking manner; large, ring-shaped earrings adorn the ears. On the forehead, between the eyebrows depicted by upward-curving incisions, there is a dot (bindi). On the head is a cap decorated (with flower petals?). Behind a hole at the back of the hollow figure’s head is an eyelet for hanging. The arms are bent, and the figure holds objects in its hands (a writing implement and a tablet or sheet of paper?) held in front of its lap. Dark green patina with slight incrustations. The circular base of the stool is dented in two places from below, with one of the dents resulting in a break. Otherwise, a completely intact and expressive figure from the North Vietnamese Iron Age. Height 9 cm. CULTURAL HERITAGE! Provenance: Private collection in northern Germany. From Gorny & Mosch Auction 264, 2019, Lot 611. Consigned there from the S.K. Collection; acquired for that collection on the Paris art market. Previously in a private collection; acquired for that collection before 2000. Condition: II -