QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)

Details

A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS
QIANLONG PERIOD (1736-1795)
The figure is finely cast seated in dhyanasana on a rectangular plinth draped in front with a long cloth with a flower head at its center. The hands are in dhyana mudra and the figure is dressed in robes draped over the left shoulder leaving the right exposed as well as the jeweled necklace. The face is cast with a pensive expression beneath hair pulled up into an elaborate coiffure behind a five-leafed tiara. The figure is framed by a flaming mandorla and the interior of the plinth is inscribed with the characters sishi jiu zhong liubai, 'forty nine out of six hundred'.
8 in. (20.3 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in South Africa in the 1960s.

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Lot Essay

The casting style of the present figure and its distinctive trapezoid throne indicate that it belongs to a group of similar figures, most of which bear cyclical dates along the bottom of the rectangular frame of the throne, produced to commemorate birthday celebrations of Qianlong and the Empress Dowager. The present figure is interesting in that it appears to indicate that it is one of a total of six-hundred figures of a set made for this particular occasion.

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