A RARE SMALL MING GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA

细节

A RARE SMALL MING GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA
EARLY 15TH CENTURY

The figure is cast seated on a lotus base in a variant of the royal ease posture, Rajalilasana, with the left leg bent horizontally and right leg bent vertically, the body turned to the left with both hands held together in Anjali mudra, a gesture of offering and veneration, the facial features finely detailed with lips indented to provide a smiling expression, crowned with an elaborate diadem before a high topknot, adorned with a complex network of beaded jewels falling about the bare torso and over the dhoti, the garment further detailed with florettes
5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm.) high

来源

Estate of baroness Garnett Von Stackelberg

拍品专文

The present figure belongs to an exceptional group of early bronzes made by the Imperial workshops of the early 15th century. The portrayal of figure in a state of animation is a particular point of note, and is comparable to a number of similar Avalokitesvara images cast in a kneeling pose dated to the Xuande period, such as the large gilt-bronze Bodhisattva (21 cm. high), illustrated in On the Path to Englightenment, The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zurich, p. 123, no. 72. The Berti Aschmann bronze, which has been suggested that it is conceivably represent a member of the Chinese imperial family, ibid, and the present figure share similarities in the depiction of the rounded facial features and personal adornments.