TIBET, TSANG PROVINCE, 16TH CENTURY

This image of Maitreya is finely cast in bronze with uniquely-applied silver and copper inlay in swirling floral designs upon the robe over his folded legs. He wields a sword and elegantly holds the end of a lotus, upon which a wisdom sutra sits. His sash reveals his bare chest, adorned with beaded pendant jewelry. While the ornamentation and tightly rendered lotus petals are particularly reminiscent of the earlier Chinese Yongle and Xuande styles, the face is modeled in a particularly Tibetan fashion, with silver-inlaid eyes and copper-inlaid lips. His downcast eyes and smile shine as a result. His hair, naturalistically cast, is worn in a curling topknot with loose strands falling over the shoulders. A carefully curled tuft at the base of his neck points to the attention this artist paid to the back of this precious bodhisattva’s image.