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Lot Essay
This form of mystical interpretation of Avalokitesvara with multiple arms and heads is found on mural paintings at Dunhuang dating to the late 8th/9th century. The sculptural form appeared as early as in the 10th century, and can be seen on a carving of a standing multi-armed Bodhisattva dated to the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127) in the Dinglongxing Temple, Hebei province, illustrated in Guanyin Baoxiang, Precious Images of Guanyin, Shanghai, 1998, p. 99. One of the earliest published gilt-bronze Tantric Avalokitesvara appears to be an example seated in bhadrasana, both legs pendent, in the Nitta collection, illustrated in The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1985, pl. 189, pl. 93, dated to the Five Dynasties (907-960).
Marici, whose name means 'ray of light', is often referred to as the goddess of dawn. She assumes various forms, and in one she appears with three heads, including one of a wild sow. She has six or eight arms and holds various attributes including a needle, thread, a vajra, a hook or rope, and a bow and arrows.
Compare with a group of related Tantric gilt-bronzes of the Ming period cast with multiple heads arranged in tiers above the principal head, such as the figure with seven heads and twenty-four arms, dated to 16th/17th century in the Chang Foundation, illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, p. 86, no. 36; and two other examples sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 537 and 29 October 2001, lot 514.
Marici, whose name means 'ray of light', is often referred to as the goddess of dawn. She assumes various forms, and in one she appears with three heads, including one of a wild sow. She has six or eight arms and holds various attributes including a needle, thread, a vajra, a hook or rope, and a bow and arrows.
Compare with a group of related Tantric gilt-bronzes of the Ming period cast with multiple heads arranged in tiers above the principal head, such as the figure with seven heads and twenty-four arms, dated to 16th/17th century in the Chang Foundation, illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, p. 86, no. 36; and two other examples sold in these Rooms, 27 April 1997, lot 537 and 29 October 2001, lot 514.