Page 204 - Sotheby's Chinese Art and Porcelain Auction New York September 12, 2018

270

A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
USHNISHAVIJAYA
QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD
the goddess seated in dhyanasana, the eight
arms in extended positions and once bearing
attributes, each of the three faces with painted
eyes and centered by a third eye beneath a
double top-knot ushnisha encircled by a pointed
diadem, the thick tresses falling about the
shoulders and the body richly adorned, wearing
a dhoti gathering in thick folds about the calves,
supported by a double-lotus base with broad,
radiating petals, the base sealed and inscribed
with a stylized double-vajra (3)
Height 13⅖ in., 34 cm
PROVENANCE
Collection of Midwestern military family,
acquired in Asia in the 1920s.
The Qianlong emperor embraced Tibetan
Buddhism, and during his reign temples
for esoteric practice proliferated, as well as
statues to worship deities of the tradition.
Ushnishavijaya (Chinese: Zun Sheng Fo Mu)
was worshiped in the Ming and Qing dynasties
as part of a trio of longevity deities. The
Qianlong emperor erected the Xumifushou
270 Temple, a replica of the Tibetan monastery
Tashilhunpo, in celebration of his seventieth
birthday in 1780, and dedicated the entire
second ß oor to this goddess. Compare a Þ gure
of Ushnishavijaya, much smaller in scale but
with similar modeling, o" ered in our Paris
rooms, 15th December 2016, lot 115.
$ 8,000-12,000
㶭Ḧ昮ġġġ戭挷慹⮲⊅ἃ㭵⛸⁷
Ը๕
伶⚳ᷕ大悐幵Ṣ⭞⹕㓞啷炻1920⸜ẋ⼿
㕤Ṇ㳚

271
A GILT-LACQUER BRONZE FIGURE
OF SIMHANADA AVALOKITESHVARA
MING DYNASTY
‘Guanyin of the Lion’s Roar’ seated in
rajalilasana on the back of a recumbent qilin,
the proper right hand resting palm down on
the raised knee, the other arm propped on a
dragon-headed rest, the deity with a single
topknot encircled by a diadem centered by
Amitabha, clothed in loosely draped robes
and ornate jewelry, the caparisoned crouching
beast craning its neck to peer up adoringly, all
raised on a Þ ve-tiered lotus base
Height 18 in., 46 cm
$ 20,000-30,000
271
㖶ġġġ戭㺮慹䋭⏤奨枛⁷

202 SOTHEBY’S IMPORTANT CHINESE ART