Page 316 - Bonhams Chinese Art London May 2013
P. 316
fig.1 Oriental Art. Winter, 1975, Vol.XXI, no.4, p.310
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The Property of a Lady 女士藏品
286 Avalokitesvara embodies the compassion of all Buddhas, who vowed
A very rare gilt-bronze figure of Avalokitesvara never to rest until all beings were freed from their cycle of re-incarnation.
18th century The present lot represents a particular aspect of this compassion, when
The Bodhisattva superbly cast with three heads surmounted by two the head of the bodhisattava splits into eleven pieces in his desperate
further tiers of three heads and two more single heads above, each with struggle to comprehend the needs of so many people. The Amitabha
a varying expression including calm, fierce, compassionate and angry, Buddha, seeing his plight, gave Avalokitesvara eleven heads with
the figure holding two hands together in front of his chest in prayer, and which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries and
other arms radiating out form the shoulder holding various attributes comprehending them, Avalokitesvara attempted to reach out to all those
or held in Buddhist gestures, the figure framed by a ‘thousand-hands’ who needed aid, but found that his two arms shattered into pieces.
mandorla and flanked on each side by a four-armed attendant, all Once more, the Amitabha Buddha comes to his aid and invests him with
raised on a repoussé pedestal with a triple Buddhist crown in the central a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.
section surrounded by scrolls, and a Buddhist lion in each side medallion.
58.5cm (23in) high The depth of compassion in the representation of the eleven-headed
£80,000 - 120,000 Avalokitesvara made it a popular subject for sculpture, but it is extremely
HK$940,000 - 1,400,000 CNY750,000 - 1,100,000 rare to find a figure of such size and grace as the present lot. Another
example of comparable quality and detailed finesse, also of large size
十八世紀 銅鎏金十一面千手觀音立像 but without the rows of small hands encircling the figure and dated to
the 17th century, is illustrated by U.von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes,
Provenance: a German private collection, acquired circa 1975 Hong Kong, 1981, no.124D.
Illustrated: Oriental Art, Winter, 1975, Vol.XXI, no.4, p.310 Compare also another figure of an eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara in the
(advertisement) (see fig.1 above) Qing Court Collection dated to the 18th century but smaller, illustrated
in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Statues of
來源：德國私人收藏，購於約1975年 Tibet, Hong Kong, 2003, no.206.
著錄：《Oriental Art》，冬季，1975年，冊XXI，編號4，頁310（廣
告）
312 | Bonhams
