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Lot Essay
The elegantly executed and richly patinated figure of Maitreya exemplifies the grace and technical refinement for which Pala-period sculpture is renowned. Maitreya, the Future Buddha, sits languidly in lalitasana with the left leg extended on a throne of lush lotus petals. The body is modeled with exceptional naturalism and voluptuousness, from the exaggerated curve of the torso and shoulders, to the slightly bulging belly, arched feet and splayed toes. The silver inlay at the rectangular urna and the downcast eyes draw attention to the sensitively modeled face with beatific expression. He is identified by the stupa in the crown of the head.
Between the eighth to twelfth centuries, the Pala dynasty was one of the last strongholds of Buddhist India. Buddhist temples and monasteries flourished under the Pala rulers, and Buddhist practitioners from greater Asia traveled to sacred sites associated with the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. With this came the expanded propagation of Buddhist texts and religious icons, easily transported by pilgrims. With the support of generations of successive royal patronage, the Pala ateliers achieved an exceptional level of sophistication, revered as one of the golden eras of the Indian sculptural tradition.
Compare the high, plaited style of the jatamukuta, the geometric shape of the stupa in the hair, the elongated facial features, the low-slung beaded yajnopavitam, and the supple physiognomy with two twelfth-century figures of Maitreya also from Gaya district, see S. Huntington, The “Pala-Sena” Schools of Sculpture, Leiden, 1984, cat. nos. 189 and 190.
Also compare the stylized nagakesara vines flanking the main figure, the tiered base with round, double-tipped lotus petals and the heavy lower rim of beaded pearls with a contemporaneous figure of Maitreya from Gaya district in the Nalin Collection (figure a), illustrated by J. Casey (ed.) in Medieval Sculpture from Eastern India: Selections from the Nalin Collection, Livingston, 1985, p. 68, cat. no. 39., all of which suggest that this sculpture and the current work may be from the same atelier.
The distinctive tiered base and rim can also be compared with two further figures in museum collections: a twelfth-century bronze figure of Lokeshvara in the National Museum, New Delhi, see ed. Lalit Kala Akademi, Eastern Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, cat. no. 283, and a contemporaneous bronze figure of Maitreya in the British Museum, London, see U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 283, fig. 69D.
Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 24498.
Between the eighth to twelfth centuries, the Pala dynasty was one of the last strongholds of Buddhist India. Buddhist temples and monasteries flourished under the Pala rulers, and Buddhist practitioners from greater Asia traveled to sacred sites associated with the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. With this came the expanded propagation of Buddhist texts and religious icons, easily transported by pilgrims. With the support of generations of successive royal patronage, the Pala ateliers achieved an exceptional level of sophistication, revered as one of the golden eras of the Indian sculptural tradition.
Compare the high, plaited style of the jatamukuta, the geometric shape of the stupa in the hair, the elongated facial features, the low-slung beaded yajnopavitam, and the supple physiognomy with two twelfth-century figures of Maitreya also from Gaya district, see S. Huntington, The “Pala-Sena” Schools of Sculpture, Leiden, 1984, cat. nos. 189 and 190.
Also compare the stylized nagakesara vines flanking the main figure, the tiered base with round, double-tipped lotus petals and the heavy lower rim of beaded pearls with a contemporaneous figure of Maitreya from Gaya district in the Nalin Collection (figure a), illustrated by J. Casey (ed.) in Medieval Sculpture from Eastern India: Selections from the Nalin Collection, Livingston, 1985, p. 68, cat. no. 39., all of which suggest that this sculpture and the current work may be from the same atelier.
The distinctive tiered base and rim can also be compared with two further figures in museum collections: a twelfth-century bronze figure of Lokeshvara in the National Museum, New Delhi, see ed. Lalit Kala Akademi, Eastern Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, cat. no. 283, and a contemporaneous bronze figure of Maitreya in the British Museum, London, see U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 283, fig. 69D.
Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 24498.