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A RARE AND EXCEPTIONALLY LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF DEWI SRI, BORNEO, 12TH CENTURY Kingdom of Kutai Martadipura (399-1635), East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Heavily cast, standing in samabhanga on a double lotus base with both hands held in karana mudra, the left grasping the thin curved stem of a rice stalk hanging over her shoulder. The goddess wearing a diaphanous dhoti secured at the waist by a belt and beaded bands suspending foliate tassels, and richly adorned with ornate floral jewelry including pendent earrings, armlets, bracelets, a necklace, and anklets. Her serene face with downcast eyes, full lips forming a calm smile, and a raised urna. The hair pulled up into a high chignon decorated with further jewels behind the five-leaf tiara. Scientific Analysis Report: An XRF laboratory test report issued by Hebolabo, Pelt, Belgium, on 27 February 2024, based on verification analysis by EDXRF (energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence spectrometry), concludes that the statue “is made of leaded brass, originated in medieval Indonesia”. A copy of the report accompanies this lot. Provenance: Found in Kutai, Borneo, early 1980s. Collection of Paul J. Jewell, acquired 1985 in Singapore. Alexander Goetz, Bali, Indonesia, acquired from the above. A copy of an old photograph showing the present lot shortly after it was first found in Borneo over forty years ago and a provenance statement, written and signed by Paul J. Jewell, accompany this lot. A copy of a certificate of authenticity (COA), confirming the dating and provenance of the present lot, issued by Gallery 101 and signed by Alexander Goetz, also accompanies this lot. Paul J. Jewell lived and worked in South East Asia for over 20 years, serving as the executive director of the European Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam. To this day, he continues to collect Asian art and antiquities. Alexander Goetz is a noted German art expert and collector who specializes in Indonesian works of art. As a young man, he built and sailed wooden boats around the world, and eventually arrived in Bali in 1971. Within a year, he became involved in the local art scene and in 1975, he was sponsored by the Indonesian Institute of Science to do research on contemporary art in Bali. In 1990, Goetz and his family moved to London where he opened a gallery specializing in Southeast Asian art, with Indonesia as the main focus. Since 2015, Alexander Goetz has run Gallery 101, a dedicated art space in Kabupaten Badung, Bali. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age, displaying exceptionally well. Ancient wear, distinct signs of weathering and erosion, some corrosion with associated scattered losses, and significant soil encrustations from a prolonged period of burial. Some casting flaws. Minor dents and nicks, some losses with associated fills and restoration, as generally expected from ancient excavated metal artifacts. The bronze is covered in a fine, naturally grown patina with bright malachite encrustations all over, as well as scattered yet distinct of areas azurite. Prospective bidders are encouraged to request a detailed condition report dossier, which will identify the exact locations where fills and repairs are in place, as well as the area where the sample for the metal analysis was taken. Weight: 19 kg Dimensions: Height 105 cm The Kingdom of Kutai Martadipura (399-1635) was the oldest Hindu kingdom in the Pacific archipelago, located on the banks of the Mahakam River in Kutai, East Kalimantan province. It was founded during the 5th century by King Kudungga, who was the first to adopt Hinduism. The kingdom was ruled by the Mulawarman dynasty, named after the grandson of Kudungga. Only seven inscriptions of the kingdom have so far been discovered, still leaving some gaps in the historiography of the region. The kingdom was eventually annexed by the Islamic Kingdom of Kutai Kertanegara. Dewi Sri or Shridevi is the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese Hindu Goddess of rice and fertility, still widely worshiped on the Indonesian islands of Java, Bali, and Lombok. She is often associated or equated with the Hindu goddess Lakshmi, the consort of Vishnu. She is however easily distinguished by the sprig of rice in her hand, where Lakshmi would hold a lotus, and the practice of paying homage to the goddess of rice or the goddess of fertility had already existed prior to Hindu-Buddhist influences to the archipelago. The cult of the primordial rice goddess has its origin in the prehistoric domestication, development and propagation of rice cultivation in Asia, possibly brought by Austroasiatic or Austronesian population that finally migrated and settled in the archipelago. Similar but slightly different rice spirits and rice deity mythologies are widespread among Indonesian ethnicities and also in neighboring countries like Thailand. In those societies, the veneration of the goddess of rice is very closely related to the fertility cult and its important role in agriculture. Literature comparison: Compare the famous Prajnaparamita of Java, originating from 13th century Singhasari, East Java, 126 cm high, in the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta. Compare a related earlier seated figure of Dewi Sri, Java, 9th century, in the Sonobudoyo Museum, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. For a similarly large Indonesian bronze figure, see the earlier Shiva Mahadeva statue dated to the 9th century in the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 20 September 2006, lot 69 Price: USD 102,000 or approx. EUR 145,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of Sridevi, South India, Tamilnadu, late Chola period, 13th century Expert remark: Compare this South Indian depiction of the same goddess. Note the size (58 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 24 March 2011, lot 45 Price: USD 146,500 or approx. EUR 190,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: Sridevi, granulite, South India, Eastern Charukyan Expert remark: Compare this South Indian depiction of the same goddess. Note the size (157.5 cm).

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