A FINE AND RARE GILT-BRONZE STANDING FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA

Details

A FINE AND RARE GILT-BRONZE STANDING FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA
10TH/11TH CENTURY

The figure standing on a base of overlapping lotus petals, the right hand posture in varada mudra and loosely holding a celestial scarf in the other, the hair swept-up into a topknot behind an ornate tiara accommodating the Amitabha seated on a lotus throne, adnorned with an elaborate bejewelled floral necklace above an uttariya sash tied at the left shoulder, the short outer skirt detailed with pleated folds partially concealing an inner long skirt revealing bare feet (loss of one finger)
8 5/8 in. (21.8 cm.) high, wood stand

Sale room notice

PLEASE NOTE, THIS FIGURE IS SOLD AS ILLUSTRATED, WITHOUT A WOOD STAND.

Lot Essay

Compare to a related seated gilt bronze Maitreya Bodhisattva with a stupa in the crown, from the same period, included in the exhibition, Buddhism Art and Faith at the British Museum, and illustrated by W. Zwalf (ed.), Catalogue, p. 204, fig. 294.

Also cf. Liao dynasty stucco images from the Xiahuayen Temple, Datong, illustrated in Buddhist Sculpture of Shanxi Province, nos. 159-162. Datong, in Shanxi province, was the capital of the Liao dynasty.

(US$80,000-100,000)

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