Page 136 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

197

A RARE BRONZE FIGURE OF Temple at Datong in Shanxi province dated to AD 1038.
AVALOKITESHVARA Sensitively cast to convey a digniÞ ed and serene quality,
the Þ gure is characteristic of Liao Buddhist statuary; in its
LIAO DYNASTY
seated position in a lotus ß ower and elegant robe.
cast seated in lalitasana on a raised lotus pedestal, the For another Liao dynasty bodhisattva, see the example in the
right arm lowered and the left hand held in dhyanamudra Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, illustrated in Marilyn
supporting a circular disc, wearing long robes opening Greidig Gridley, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture Under the Liao,
at the chest revealing a beaded necklace, the face with New Delhi, 1993, pl. 102, Þ g. 144; and another in the National
a benevolent expression, the hair gathered into a high Palace Museum, Taipei, included in the exhibition Recently
elaborate chignon with long tresses falling across the Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, Taipei, 1996, cat. no.
shoulders 14. Compare also a smaller Liao bronze Þ gure of Amithaba
Height 4⅛ in., 10.5 cm Buddha, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 27th May 2014,
The present Þ gure of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara lot 752.
belongs to a small group of Þ nely modeled Buddhist gilt-
$ 20,000-30,000
bronze sculptures which are related to the famous large
clay bodhisattvas of the Liao dynasty at the Lower Huayan 怤ġġġ戭奨枛厑啑⛸⁷

134 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART