A bronze figure of Bodhisattva Maitreya

KASHMIR, 7TH/8TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze figure of Bodhisattva Maitreya
Kashmir, 7th/8th Century
Well cast and sensitively modeled standing with his right hand raised in abhaya mudra and holding a flask in his pendent left hand, his face with a benign expression flanked by tresses of hair falling on his shoulders and surmounted by a trefoil crown, his dhoti clinging to his legs in elegant folds rippling down the center, the eyes inlaid in silver, the lips in copper, the hair with remains of blue pigment
7 in. (19.8 cm.) high

Literature

U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pl. 9E

Lot Essay

The present figure of Maitreya displays all the finest characteristics of a mature Kashmiri style, in its softness of modeling and graceful charm. The dhoti, with the typical undulating folds between the legs, is indicative of the date.