Lot 398
  • 398

A porcelain figure of a young Buddha , Séraphin Soudbinine, Paris, circa 1935

Estimate
4,000 - 6,000 GBP
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Description

  • porcelain
  • height 24cm, 9 1/2 in.
modelled in the lotus position, with brown matte glaze, with incised signature and mark

Condition

Excellent condition with very minor surface flaws visible in the catalogue photo.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Séraphin Nikolaevich Soudbinine (1870-1944) was born in Nizhny Novgorod and died in Paris.  His career in the arts began on stage, playing roles in the works of Tolstoy and Gorky.  After successfully touring on a provincial level, he joined the Moscow Art Theatre group in 1898, the year it was founded by method acting guru Konstantin Stanislavsky.  Soudbinine’s stay lasted five years during which he was involved in almost every major production the prestigious theatre company performed.  Parallel to perfecting his craft as an actor, he taught himself to draw and sculpt.  After a visit to Paris in 1902, Soudbinine (a pseudonym that derives from the Russian word for fate) decided to pursue the plastic arts alone.

His residence in Paris, which began in 1904, was facilitated by the generous sponsorship of Savva Morozov, the progressive magnate and philanthropist who came from one of Russia’s richest families.  Paris proved fateful in Soudbinine’s career.  One of his sitters, the composer Alexander Scriabin, introduced him to Rodin, and the two began a master-and-apprentice relationship that evolved into artistic collaboration.  “Other sculptors turn life into sculpture,” it was said of Rodin, “he turns sculpture into life.”  Soudbinine became one of his favourite students.  He was his mentor’s chief stone carver for many years and contributed to Rodin’s famous sculpture The Hand of God.  In his later years, his interest in Art Deco would lead him to collaborate with Jean Dunand, perhaps the greatest lacquer artist of the period.

After the Bolshevik Revolution, Soudbinine rejected Communist rule and stayed in Paris. In the twenties, he began travelling to America, where he was awarded commissions for sculptures from public funds. According to Alma Spreckls, the wealthy San Francisco socialite and philanthropist, Soudbinine “suddenly got the idea to make ceramics”. Just as he had swapped acting for sculpture earlier in life, he now became a ceramicist. His ceramics were exhibited throughout the United States in the 20s and 30s. They intertwine the influences of Russian folk culture with Chinese art.

Soudbinine decided to educate himself about the medium of ceramics through experimentation. He built his own ovens, mixing the clay and enamels to produce his stoneware and porcelain pieces. The imprint of Middle Eastern iconography permeated these works. The present lot constitutes a companion piece of sorts to Soudbinine’s Sleeping Monsters (1906). Whilst the shapeshifting mythological creatures cast in bronze are heavy, deformed, terrifying and turbulent, this meditating Buddha is light, smooth, graceful and at peace. His hairless head, closed eyes and lotus position project the minimalism and Zen of Buddhist aesthetics.

Outside Russia, Soudbinine’s sculptures and ceramics have been exhibited in Venice, Prague, Berlin, London, Paris, New York, and Chicago. They can be found in the Russian Museum in St Petersburg, at the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, at Musée d’Orsay and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris, and at the Museum of Ceramics in Sèvres.