Page 99 - 2019 September 13th Christie's New York Important Chinese Works of Art

The form of mystical interpretation of
Avalokiteshvara with multiple arms and
heads is found on mural paintings at
Dunhuang dating to the late 8th-9th
century. The sculptural form appeared
as early as the 10th century, and can
be seen on a carving of a standing
multi-armed bodhisattva dated to the
Northern Song Dynasty (AD 960-1127) in
the Dinglongxing Temple, Hebei province,
illustrated in Guanyin Baoxiang (Precious
Images of Guanyin), Shanghai, 1998, p. 99.
One of the earliest published gilt-bronze
Tantric Avalokiteshvara appears to be
an example seated in bhadrasana, both
legs pendent, in the Nitta collection,
illustrated in The Crucible of Compassion
and Wisdom, National Palace Museum,
Taipei, 1985, pl. 189, pl. 93, dated to the
Five Dynasties (AD 907-960). For Ming-
dynasty examples of gilt-bronze Tantric
Avalokiteshvara fgures, see one fgure sold
at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29 May 2009, lot
1951, and another fgure sold at Christie’s
Hong Kong, 29 October 2001, lot 514.
The current fgure can be compared to a
group of fnely cast, imperial gilt-bronze
fgures from the Kangxi period, which
are likely created by a single workshop,
or exclusively for the palace. Three other
fgures from this group are in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, and are illustrated
in The Complete Collection of Treasures
of the Palace Museum – 60 - Buddhist
Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 2002, pp.
239-41, no. 228 (Amitayus), no. 229
(Vajradhara) and no. 230 (Green Tara).
Although the iconography is varied, these
three fgures in the Palace Museum
each have a separately-cast stand with
layered lotus petals surrounding the base,
and are adorned with similar ornaments
such as pendent earrings, a fve-point
tiara and a jeweled necklace. Another
gilt-bronze bodhisattva from this group
is published on Himalayan Art Resources
(himalayanart.org) as item no. 8084.
Compare, also, two gilt-bronze fgures
from this group with layered lotus
petal bases sold at auction: a fgure of
Amitayus sold at Christie’s Hong Kong,
30 May 2018, lot 2867, and a fgure of
Avalokiteshvara sold at Christie’s Hong
Kong, 28 November 2012, lot 2265.

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