Lot 273 Dα

The model for this statue of Amida Nyorai were the Heian period sculptures, as for instance formidably represented by the almost three-meter-high golden Amida in Byōdoin temple in Nara dated 1053. Of course, not only the physiognomy and robes of the Buddha but also his body proportions, the relationship of the figure to the head and body nimbus as well as the mandorla and the structure of the base served as models for Buddhist sculptors (busshi) over the centuries. A very similar, 104 cm high Amida Nyorai from the early Edo period, for example, is illustrated in: T. Kuno, Edo butsuzō zuten, Tokyo 1994, p. 24.

Images of this type of Amida Nyorai were popular throughout the Edo period. The mudra (Amida jōin) with the bent index fingers and touching thumb tips, which together form a double circle, shows that Amida is meditating on the highest category of sentient beings whose rebirth in the Pure Land is assured.

The dais for this Buddhist image is modelled after the lotus flower, an important Buddhist symbol. A lotus rises from the mud and blooms immaculately, and this represents the purity of the Buddha in a defiled world. The structure of the multi-level lotus base (renza) consists of the following standardised sections: plinth (kamachiza), petal wreath (kaeribana), disc of stamens (renniku), cushion depicting a lion (uwashikinasu) and huge lotus flower (renben). This pattern was popular with sculptures of the 17th century. Later on, lotus bases are more flamboyant, polygonal, stepped and contain architectural elements such as balustrades.

This monumental Buddha was one of the highly valued works of art in the shop of the Berlin art dealer Ernst Fritzsche (founded in 1888). It can be seen in two photographs by H. Grunberg, placed in front of a very large lacquer screen and between a neo-baroque display case and a cabinet with carved doors. The photographs were probably taken in the 1930s in one of the showrooms of Walter Fritzsche (1892-1973), son of the company's founder Ernst Fritzsche (?-1935), at Wilhelmstrasse 49, later on 52. These premises were severely damaged by bombing on 1 March 1943 and completely destroyed on 23 November 1943. The Buddha and the stock in the basement, however, escaped destruction, so that Fritzsche was able to plan a new start. It is not known when he moved the gallery to Leipzigerstrasse 13.

Fritzsche continued his business at this address — now the Sovjet sector of the divided city — until 1950. After expropriation by the magistrate of Greater Berlin, Walter Fritzsche moved to West Berlin and opened a new shop in the British sector on Fasanenstrasse 22 in the summer of 1952. The shop was known as "China-Fritzsche". Here, the monumental Buddha had a place of honour in one of the showrooms. The "16th century Kamakura Buddha" - as the company called it - was not for sale.

When the gallery moved to Südwestkorso in 1985, now under the management of Walter Fritzsche's granddaughter Anita, the monumental Buddha also moved into the new premises, where it continued its existence in a corner of the backroom.


Literature:
Patrizia Jirka-Schmitz, Ostasiatika-Händler in Berlin von 1933 bis 1945, in: Bianca Welzing-Bräutigam (ed.) Spurensuche, Der Berliner Kunsthandel von 1933-1945 im Spiegel der Forschung, Berlin 2018, pp. 56-60.


Fig. 1 Interior of the shop on Wilhelmstrasse 55, 1930s,

Fig. 2 Interior of the shop on Fasanenstraße 22, 1950s, reproduced from: Jubiläum bei China Fritzsche, in: Weltkunst, 1.11.1962, p. 19