LATE MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

A Ming dynasty figure of Maitreya Buddha in the Nitta Group Collection, illustrated in The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom: Special Exhibition Catalog of the Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection, Taiwan, 1987, p. 214, pl. 117, is quite similar to the present figure in the shape and expression of the face, the quality and decoration of the robes, and the stance in which he sits.
A similar parcel-gilt bronze figure of Budai sold at Christie's New York, 26 March 2003, lot 50.