TIBETO-CHINESE, 18TH CENTURY

During the reign of the Qianlong Emperor, a new interest and demand for Buddhist sculpture emerged, with the Imperial workshops producing quantities of Tibetan style Buddhist bronzes of varying quality. Numerous Tibetan bronzes were in the Imperial collection and with all likelyhood Tibetan craftsmen were also employed at the Imperial workshops. The Imperial collection (see Buddhist Statues of Tibet, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, 2003) also includes examples of Indian, Kashmiri and Nepalese bronzes, many received as gifts from Tibetan emmissiaries, which served as prototypes for the revival of foreign artistic styles.
This very finely executed bronze revives the Newari style of the 14th/15th century to perfection, with a purist approach and elegantly modeled left sleeve.