Finely carved, the serene face with sinuously lidded downcast eyes below arched brows, above a broad nose and full bow-shaped lips with a raised lower edge forming a benevolent smile, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The hair is neatly tied in a high chignon, held away from the face with a foliate band.

Provenance: Dr. Andre Got, Vietnam, before 1954. M. Oiseau (d. 1986), acquired from the above and thence by descent to his widow Helene Oiseau. Het Magazijn, Ghent, Belgium, 2006. A private collection in Belgium, acquired from the above. A copy of a provenance statement, written and signed by Helene Oiseau, dated 25 February 2006, confirming the provenance stated above, accompanies this lot. A copy of a signed authentication certificate from Het Magazijn, including two photographs of the present lot, and confirming the provenance and dating above, accompanies this lot. Dr. Andre Got was a collector who donated many pieces from his collection to the Musee Guimet in Paris.
Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age. Extensive wear, losses, signs of weathering and erosion, encrustations, minor nicks. The stone with a superb, naturally grown, dark patina overall.

Weight: 5,881 g (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 24 cm (excl. stand), 35 cm (incl. stand)

With an associated modern stand. (2)

In Java, Hinduism lost temporarily its influence to Buddhism during the late eighth and ninth centuries and was forced to more remote mountainous regions. Only from the mid-ninth century onwards it asserted once more its importance as is testified by for instance the famous Candi Lara Jonggrang. Worshipped was the Hindu trinity compromising Shiva the destructor as well as the Creator, Vishnu the preserver of the world order and Brahma the progenitor of all that lives. They were worshiped as a group or individually.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Javanese head of a male deity, dated to the second half of the 9th century, 17.5 cm high, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.142.285.

Auction comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Paris, 25 October 2022, lot 47
Price: EUR 8,925 or approx. EUR 9,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An Andesite head of a deity, Indonesia, Central Java, 9th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling and manner of carving. Note the related size (22 cm).