A Gilt Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni

TIBETO-CHINESE, YONGLE MARK AND PERIOD (1403-24)

Details

A Gilt Bronze Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni
Tibeto-Chinese, Yongle Mark and Period (1403-24)
Very finely cast seated in dhyanasana atop a double-lotus base with beaded rims, the Buddha's hands in the gestures of dhyana mudra and bhumisparsha mudra, wearing a long flowing robe over his left shoulder cascading down in elegant folds, his serene face with downcast eyes beneath gently arched brows flanked by ears with pierced pendulous lobes, surmounted by hair in tightly wound curls rising into an ushnisha and rounded knop, incised six-character mark at front of base Daming Yongle nianshi, 'Bestowed in the Great Ming Yongle period', richly gilt overall, incised on the interior rim of the base with a position mark
10¾ in. (27.3 cm.) high

Lot Essay

The Buddhist fervor of the Ming court encouraged a cultural exchange between Tibet and China through Imperial patronage. During the Yuan Dynasty, the authority of Mongol rulers had become closely associated with Tibetan Buddhist rituals, culminating in masterpieces of Tibeto-Chinese art created during the first half of the 15th Century. The Ming Emperor Yongle (1403-24), a devout Buddhist, commissioned gilt bronzes bearing his reign mark both for personal religious practices and as gifts for Tibetan emissaries. Created in the Imperial ateliers in Beijing, they are unsurpassed in technical mastery of casting, ornamental detailing, chasing, and gilding, achieving graceful refinement; compare a very closely related figure of the medicine Buddha Bhaishajiyaguru bearing the Yongle reign mark, of the exact same size and similar treatment of the drapery, sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 April 2002, lot 541.

More from Indian Southeast Asian Art

View All