Page 169 - Christies Asia Week 2015 Chinese Works of Art

THE PROPERTY OF A GENTLEMAN

2130
A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
AVALOKITESHVARA
YUAN-MING DYNASTY, 14TH-15TH CENTURY

The bodhisattva is seated in rajalilasana and
clad in fowing robes incised with diaper
and foral patterns, and adorned with beaded
jewelry. The face is serene with heavy-
lidded, downcast eyes and the fowing locks
of hair are pushed back and secured with a
diadem supporting a diminutive image of
Amitabha.
6Ω in. (16.5 cm.) high

$18,000-25,000

The present fgure of Avalokiteshvara belongs to
a corpus of similar gilt-bronzes from the Yuan
and Ming dynasties. All show the bodhisattva in
the ‘Water and Moon’ (shuiyue) posture, with
the right arm draped languidly over the raised
knee. Such depictions may have originated in the
Tang period, but gained increasing prevalence
in the Song and Yuan dynasties. Compare the
present fgure with a similar example published
by G. Eskenazi in Chinese Buddhist sculpture
from Northern Wei to Ming, London, 2002, pp.
49-51, no. 14.

元/明 銅鎏金自在觀音像

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