MING DYNASTY, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

This serene figure of the Amitabha Buddha is shown seated in vajraparyankasana with the hands in dhyana mudra, the meditation gesture. The principal deity of the Pure Land sect of Buddhism, Amitabha, whose name means “immeasurable light,” is known for his longevity, discernment and pure perception. He possesses innumerable merits resulting from the good deeds he performed during his countless past lives as a bodhisattva. Amitabha resides in the paradise known in Sanskrit as Sukhavati and in English as the Western Pure Land, sometimes also called the Western Paradise. Amitabha is also known as the Buddha of Infinite Light, or Wuliangguang, and as the Buddha of Infinite Life, or Wuliangshou, and the two names are sometimes combined as Wuliangguangshou.

Compare the very similar Ming gilt-bronze figure of Amitabha Buddha, but of larger size (30.4 cm.), from the India House Club, New York, and formerly in the collection of Willard D. Straight, sold at Christie’s New York 19-20 September 2013, lot 1529.