Page 58 - Bonhams Art from the Scholar's Studio, September 16, 2013 NY

8100 (detail) 8100 (detail)

Property from a Southwest Collector

8100
A fine and rare gilt bronze figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Yige drugma
Yongle incised six character mark and of the period
Seated in vajraparyanksana on a double lotus pedestal base, with principal hands in anjalimudra, and secondary left hand
holding a lotus (padma) and right hand a rosary (aksamala), his graceful robed body belted at the waist and adorned with
scarves draped over his arms and falling onto the pedestal, and set off by jeweled pendants, bracelets, and earrings framing
downcast eyes under a five-pronged crown; the base sealed with a red-painted brass plate decorated with a visvavajra, the
pedestal base inscribed with a six-character Yongle mark reading da ming yongle nianshi.
8 1/4in (21cm) high
$200,000 - 300,000

Provenance:
Purchased at Sarkisian Galleries, Denver, July 7th, 1980
According to notes by Mr. Sarkisian, the work was acquired by him in India in the early 1960’s

Shadakshari Lokesvara is one of the 106 manifestations of Avalokiteshvara, and embodies the six realms of the wheel of
life, om mani padme hum. Works such as these with Yongle marks were produced by the Chinese imperial workshops, and
appear, according to von Schroeder, to be part of a new tradition under the influence of Tibetan and Nepalese art during
this period. For a discussion of these missions and their impact on the art of Tibet and China in this period, see Ulrich von
Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Volume 2, Tibet and China, Hong Kong, 2001, pp. 1244-48.

The Yongle emperor initiated multiple missions between China and Tibet between 1408 and 1419. Records show that
during six of these trips images were transported from China to Tibet. (p. 1241) For related Yongle examples see Ulrich von
Schroeder, op. cit., pp 1274-5, plates 355, B-E, and pieces in the Qing court collection, The Complete Collection of Treasures
of the Palace Museum, Buddhist Statues of Tibet, nos. 214, 216 and 217. See also a Yongle gilt bronze Manjusri in the
Metropolitan Museum of Art, illustrated in James C. Y. Watt and Denise Patry Leidy, Defining Yongle: Imperial art in the Early
15th Century plate 25, as well as the discussion on pages 61-75.

See two Yongle images of Avalokiteshvara from the Stephen Markbreiter collection, sold Sotheby’s Hong Kong, October
2010, lot 2146 and 2143 and a figure of Maitreya, lot 2144. See also a closely related example to the present lot sold by
Beijing Poly, January 1, 2007, lot 960.

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