NORTHEAST INDIA, BIHAR, PALA PERIOD, 11TH-12TH CENTURY

Powerfully cast despite its small size, the bodhisattva of compassion is seated in lalitasana on a beaded double-lotus base, his right hand lowered in varada mudra, the gesture of dispensing boons, and and his left holds the stem of a lotus. His benevolent expression is enhanced with silver-inlaid eyes and surmounted by an elaborate topknot of dreadlocks (jatas). A product of the Pala period, this important dynasty that flourished in eastern India from the eighth to the twelfth century produced artworks of a distinct style heavily influenced by the Gupta period aesthetic. The Pala style traveled from India to Nepal, China and Tibet, and served as an important foundation for sculptural and painting traditions in subsequent centuries. The double-lotus base over the stepped plinth is, for instance, a widely-used style created during this period and emulated widely for many centuries thereafter. The backside of the present figure’s base is adorned with what is likely a dedicatory inscription in a Devanagari script, with one letter per lotus petal. For a very similar figure, compare with a bronze figure of Maitreya illustrated by U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 283, fig. 69D.