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Lot Essay
In Mahayana Buddhism, the form of Buddhism which prevailed in China, Sakymuni Buddha was the fourth in a series of earthly Buddhas, before his death foretelling the coming of the fifth early Buddha, Maitreya. The gesture performed by the present figure of touching the earth, bhumisparsa mudra, refers to Sakyamuni Buddha calling the earth to witness at the moment of his enlightenment. Here he is shown wearing a kasaya, a robe made from patches of cloth joined together. As discussed in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1993, p. 38, kasaya in Chinese is translated as futian ('happy fields'), implying that "supporting monks is equivalent to planting fields".
A gilt-bronze figure of Sakyamuni Buddha dated 18th century and wearing very similar robes, but of smaller size (20.2 cm. high), is illustrated op. cit., p. 45, no. 15. Another smaller (30.2 cm. high) girl-bronze figure of Sakyamuni seated in this position and inscribed with a Qianlong mark around the base is illustrated in The Asian Collections, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2003, p. 98 (upper right). See, also, the gilt-bronze figure of Sakyamuni dated 15th-16th century of larger size (37 in. high) but shown wearing very similar robes sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 29 October 2000, lot 19.
A gilt-bronze figure of Sakyamuni Buddha dated 18th century and wearing very similar robes, but of smaller size (20.2 cm. high), is illustrated op. cit., p. 45, no. 15. Another smaller (30.2 cm. high) girl-bronze figure of Sakyamuni seated in this position and inscribed with a Qianlong mark around the base is illustrated in The Asian Collections, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2003, p. 98 (upper right). See, also, the gilt-bronze figure of Sakyamuni dated 15th-16th century of larger size (37 in. high) but shown wearing very similar robes sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 29 October 2000, lot 19.