Renzo Freschi Oriental Art

28/04/2026

Cari Amici, Clienti, Lettori,
Mentre preparavo la mostra sul Giainismo (2024) avevo cercato una statua di Bahubali, un “santo” giainista molto venerato nel Sud India. Negli anni ’80, durante un viaggio nel Karnataka, una regione ricca di straordinari siti archeologici e magnifici templi, ne avevo sentito parlare e avevo deciso di visitare il sito di Sravanabelgola dove, alla sommità di una collina di enormi massi, si erge la sua statua, un monolito di pietra scolpito nel 981 e alto circa 17 metri.
Purtroppo allora la mia ricerca non aveva avuto successo ma qualche tempo fa una collega americana mi ha improvvisamente offerto una statuina di Bahubali di un collezionista di arte jainista che ho acquistato immediatamente memore del mio viaggio e come simbolo di una ricerca spirituale che sovente in India e in tutto l’Oriente si manifesta in modo così determinato.
Bahubali, figlio di una aristocratica famiglia di fede jain dopo un aspro confronto che lo aveva visto vittorioso sulle mire disoneste del fratello aveva deciso di rinunciare ad ogni legame materiale per raggiungere la Conoscenza. Per 12 anni era quindi rimasto eretto e immobile in meditazione tanto che la vegetazione aveva iniziato ad avvolgere il suo corpo come si vede sia nella grande statua in pietra che in questa bellissima statuina in bronzo che lo riproduce fedelmente. Stante su una doppia base, è avvolto da tralci vegetali che circondano le gambe per salire lungo le braccia. Le gambe non si toccano e le braccia sono staccate dal corpo in modo da sottolineare il distacco da qualunque attaccamento materiale e mentale ; il corpo è proporzionato, perfetto nella sua immobilità. Ai piedi due cobra, simbolo della vittoria sulle passioni umane, ergono il cappuccio, mentre sulla base sono incise delle scritte devozionali.
Sul mio sito potete leggere un articolo che racconta la storia di Bahubali, non una divinità e nemmeno uno dei 24 Maestri (Tirthankara) del Jainismo ma il santo più celebrato di questa religione.

Pomeriggio: 15-19
335 25 88 12

Renzo Freschi

28/04/2026

BAHUBALI (also known as Gommateshwara)
Dear friends,
While preparing the exhibition on Jainism (2024), I had been searching for a statue of Bahubali, a Jain saint widely revered in South India. In the 1980s, during a trip to Karnataka, a region rich in extraordinary archaeological sites and magnificent temples, I had heard about him and decided to visit the site of Sravanabelgola where, at the top of a hill of enormous boulders, stands his statue, a stone monolith carved in 981 and approximately 17 meters high. Unfortunately, my search had been unsuccessful at the time, but some time ago an American colleague unexpectedly offered me a Bahubali figurine from a collector of Jain art. I immediately purchased it, mindful of my trip and as a symbol of a spiritual quest that often manifests itself so determinedly in India and throughout the East. Bahubali, the son of an aristocratic Jain family, after a bitter confrontation that saw him victorious over his brother's dishonest ambitions, decided to renounce all material ties to attain Knowledge. For 12 years, he remained erect and immobile in meditation, so much so that vegetation began to envelop his body, as seen in both the large stone statue and this beautiful bronze figurine that faithfully reproduces him. Standing on a double base, he is wrapped in vines that encircle his legs and climb up his arms. The legs do not touch, and the arms are detached from the body to emphasize detachment from all material and mental attachments; the body is proportionate, perfect in its immobility. At his feet, two cobras, symbolizing victory over human passions, raise their hoods, while devotional inscriptions are engraved on the base.

On my website you can read an article that tells the story of Bahubali, not a deity nor one of the 24 Masters (Tirthankara) of Jainism but the most celebrated saint of this religion.

Afternoon: 15-19
335 25 88 12

Renzo Freschi

27/02/2026

Dear Friends, Customers, Readers,

the first newsletter of the year is dedicated to an Indian painting that I found about 50 years ago in a junk market in New Delhi and which has remained in my home ever since. In the article “My India” on the website, I recount this discovery and my relationship with this “fresco of Indian life.” For decades, I tried to find information about the period and school where it had been performed, but only recently, thanks to the help of Indian scholar Sarang Sharma, finally, the mystery has been revealed: you will find its beautiful description at the end of my personal story.
The Gallery will close permanently at the end of June and will operate solely through its website. Until then, the “special sale” will still be available, open on Tuesdays and Fridays or by appointment on other days.

Morning: 11-13
Afternoon: 3-7

Renzo Freschi

Renzo Freschi - asian art
Via Gesù, 17 - 20121 Milano (MI) - Italy
Tel. +39 02 79 45 74 - Mob. +39 335 258812
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.renzofreschi.com

27/02/2026

Cari Amici, Clienti, Lettori,

la prima Newsletter dell’anno è dedicata a un dipinto indiano che trovai circa 50 anni fa in un mercato di cianfrusaglie a Nuova Delhi e che da allora è rimasto a casa mia. Nell’articolo “La mia India” sul sito racconto questa scoperta e il mio rapporto con questo “affresco di vita indiana”. Per decenni ho cercato di avere informazioni sull’epoca e la scuola dove era stato eseguito ma solo recentemente, grazie all’aiuto dello studioso indiano Sarang Sharma, finalmente è stato svelato il mistero: trovate la sua bellissima analisi e descrizione alla fine della mia storia personale.
La Galleria chiuderà definitivamente alla fine di giugno per operare solo attraverso il sito; fino a quella data sarà ancora disponibile la “vendita speciale” con apertura il martedi e il venerdi oppure su appuntamento negli altri giorni.
Mattino: 11-13
Pomeriggio: 15-19

Renzo Freschi

Renzo Freschi - asian art
Via Gesù, 17 - 20121 Milano (MI) - Italy
Mob. +39 335 258812
e-mail: [email protected]
website: www.renzofreschi.com

13/02/2026

Buddha head
Mon art of Dvaravati
Southern Thailand, 8th century
Stucco with ocre pigment

26/09/2025

23/05/2025

I love elephants, their intelligence, the joyful impetuosity of their cubs, their mythical memory .... on the other hand, doesn’t Ganesh, the most revered of Hindu gods, have an elephant’s head? This is another reason why I have almost always hesitated to purchase ivory artifacts, although this “ethical resistance” has sometimes yielded to the power of art, as in the case of the three works I have the pleasure of presenting to you. In the 1990s I was offered four ivory legs for a maharaja’s bed entirely carved with 20 Ka*****ra positions.
Their fascination came not so much from the acrobatic erotic positions as from the harmony of the bodies and the quality of the carving. I then decided to purchase them because I considered them to be true works of art, executed by a sculptor who managed to give those bodies a vitality that resembles a dance. Many years later I was offered a Chinese ivory tusk entirely carved with dozens of characters, scenes of daily life and epic events.
The details and figures are so numerous that it requires a magnifying glass to discover them and are described with pictorial realism. Again I succumbed to the lure of a work of art unique in the calligraphic perfection of the carving and the symbolism of the scenes described. Finally, I was recently offered a giant Thai tusk that caught my eye because it is entirely carved with scenes from the Ramayana, the famous Indian mythological novel that recounts the abduction of Sita, wife of the god Rama, by the demon Ravana and the struggle that her husband-with the help of the monkey god Hanuman-undertakes against the demons to free his beloved.
Because of its size (H 168 cm) and quality of work, the tusk was probably intended for an important temple or one of the courts of the king of Thailand. I thought I would present these three rare works of art in the article “Three Wonders in Ivory”, which you can read at www.renzofreschi.com and which are also posted in the “New Proposals” section.
All works are accompanied by a Cites Certificate valid in the European Community and an Export Permit.
Renzo Freschi - asian art

24/04/2025

Vajrasattva with Prajnaparamita. Tibet, 18th century, gilt copper alloy, h 7 cm

04/04/2025