Pair Huge Thai Bronze Hongsa Birds, C1890

19th century

Sold by Curious Antiques

Description

Rare pair of Thai bronze 'Hongsa' birds ,c1890. These are impressive examples standing at 115cm tall and are extremely heavy ,too heavy for my scales but I would say 25kg + each. Traditionally used by Thai Royalty to decorate palaces and barges or for ceremonial use they are highly symbolic and similar to mythical birds such as the Phoenix. The word Hongsa is derived from the Indian Hamsa. In Indian mythology the Hamsa is a mythical bird of passage representing the release of the soul from the cycle of life a central goal in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The statues are nicely painted in gold and red with mirror decoration to the wings and they stand on wooden bases .The quality of the casting is good with nice detail to the feathers etc. They have aged well with just the right amount of wear to the paintwork making them highly decorative. Overall condition is good with minor losses to the mirror decoration, small chips to the wood base and minor loss of paint etc. One of the birds has a small pipe protruding from the back which I think would be used for incense/flowers ,on the other this is missing and there is a small hole. Please refer to the detailed photographs and feel free to contact me if you would like to view the item.

Dimensions: 115cm tall x 37cm wide x 36cm deep. The price includes FREE UK shipping. I will happily ship worldwide.

Physical Dimensions

Height

115cm (45.28")

Width

37cm (14.57")

Depth

36cm (14.17")

Declaration

Curious Antiques has dated this piece to the 19th Century.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA786751

Dealers Notes

Curious Antiques specialises in sourcing fine, rare and unusual antiques and curiosities. We are passionate about customer satisfaction and will do all we can to ensure you are happy and in the unlikely event you are not offer a no questions asked returns policy. We accept payment via paypal, bank transfer, cheque and cash.

Description

Rare pair of Thai bronze 'Hongsa' birds ,c1890.

“

These are impressive examples standing at 115cm tall and are extremely heavy ,too heavy for my scales but I would say 25kg + each.

Curious Antiques

Traditionally used by Thai Royalty to decorate palaces and barges or for ceremonial use they are highly symbolic and similar to mythical birds such as the Phoenix. The word Hongsa is derived from the Indian Hamsa. In Indian mythology the Hamsa is a mythical bird of passage representing the release of the soul from the cycle of life a central goal in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism. The statues are nicely painted in gold and red with mirror decoration to the wings and they stand on wooden bases .The quality of the casting is good with nice detail to the feathers etc. They have aged well with just the right amount of wear to the paintwork making them highly decorative. Overall condition is good with minor losses to the mirror decoration, small chips to the wood base and minor loss of paint etc. One of the birds has a small pipe protruding from the back which I think would be used for incense/flowers ,on the other this is missing and there is a small hole. Please refer to the detailed photographs and feel free to contact me if you would like to view the item.

Dimensions: 115cm tall x 37cm wide x 36cm deep. The price includes FREE UK shipping. I will happily ship worldwide.