MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Details

A RARE AND UNUSUAL GILT-BRONZE TANTRIC FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA
MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY
Shown seated in dhyanasana with the principal pair of hands in abhisekamudra and eight further pairs of hands extended and holding various objects, including an axe, elixir bottle, wheel of law and conch shell, dressed in long robes open at the chest to expose an elaborate necklace and waist-tied dhoti, the face cast with serene expression, the elongated earlobes set with jeweled earrings and the hair pulled up into a tall coiffure behind the five-point crown, centered by a figure of Sakyamuni Buddha
11¼ in. (28.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong in 1991.
The Tsui Museum of Art.

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Lot Essay

Compare a similar bronze figure of the eighteen-armed Avalokitesvara from the collection of Warren Cox, illustrated by H. Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Japan, 1967, no. 71, where the author notes that the figure exhibits tantric influence and its multiple arms reflect Indian iconography. See, also, the similar figure sold in these rooms, 26 March 2010, lot 1303.

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