Page 7 - Fine Asian Art, Bonhams San Francisco June 27, 2017

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A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AVALOKITESVARA A BRASS ALLOY STUPA
Qing dynasty, Pala Revival, 18th/19th century Tibet, 13th/14th century
Depicted seated in the lalitasana posture of royal ease, coiffed in Associated with the Kadampa tradition, the chorten surmounted
a high chignon adjacent to a small lotus blooming above his left by a teardrop shaped lotus form finial above a protruding convex
shoulder, areas of his chest highlighted in ‘cold gold,’ all raised atop petal-form band surmounting a ridged conical neck blooming from
a tall elaborately rendered waisted plinth. a balustraded saw-tooth square-shape mid-section inlaid in two
6in (15.2cm) high semi-precious cabochons, all above a bell-shaped foot encircled in a
double lotus petal band surrounding the base.
US$3,000 - 5,000 5 1/4in (13.3cm) high

This charming bronze emulates the medieval Pala style. Originals US$3,000 - 5,000
were first introduced to China through exchanges between Tibetan
monasteries and the Yuan court (1279-1368). By the 18th century, Provenance
Qing palace collections had assembled significant holdings of Private New York Collection, acquired in New York in 1990s
examples to draw from. (See Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism
Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1992 and Chang & Hsu, 8005
Buddhist Art from Rehol, Taipei, 1999, respectively.) Compare the A COPPER ALLOY STUPA
present example with other Pala Revival pieces sold at Bonhams, Tibet, 13th/14th century
New York, 17 September 2014, lots 49-52; and published in Ulrich Associated with the Kadampa tradition, the chorten surmounted
Von Schoeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes (Hong Kong: Visual Dharma by a teardrop shaped lotus bud-form finial above a flared disk
Publications, 1981), 472; and Zangchuan fojiao zaoxiang-Gugong surmounting a ridged conical neck protruding from a saw-tooth
bowuyuan cang wenwu zhenpin quanji (Hong Kong, 2008) p. 245, balustraded mid-section all surmounting the bell-form base encircled
no. 234. by a double lotus-petal band encircling the foot.
7 1/4in (18.4cm) high

US$4,000 - 6,000

Provenance
Private New York Collection, acquired in New York in 1990s

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