Page 12 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

604
A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID BRASS FIGURE OF MAITREYA
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.68420
3 5/8 in. (9.3 cm) high

$40,000 - 60,000

印度東北部 帕拉時期 約十二世紀 錯銀錯紅銅彌勒菩薩銅像

Identified by the water pot emerging from a lotus flower to his left shoulder, Maitreya, the
Future Buddha, smiles at the viewer benevolently. He is richly adorned with silver and copper
inlaid regalia, which does not distract from his silver inlaid gaze. Modeled with naturalism, the
sensuous figure is emblematic of Indian bronze sculpture produced in the late Pala period
(11th/12th centuries).

Weldon and Casey Singer argue that the placement of this figure’s left hand on his knee, rather
than having a more convincing lean on the lotus base, differs from a true Pala rendition and
indicates the sculpture is a contemporaneous Tibetan iteration of the Pala style (Weldon &
Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet, London, 1999, p.57). However, this figure was
possibly part of a triad initially and numerous Pala triads show that the two side figures may
vary in posture from how they might appear as a central subject (cf. von Schroeder, Buddhist
Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. 1, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.262 & 271, nos.83A & 87B). A Pala figure of
Maitreya preserved in the Capital Museum in Beijing is also seated in a similar posture of royal
ease with his left hand upon the knee and another sold Christie’s, New York, 20 March 2012,
lot 80.

Moreover, Maitreya’s tall chignon, face, fleshy waist, and plump toes all exhibit Pala idioms.
For comparison, see a Pala bronze Maitreya formerly in the John and Berthe Ford Collection
(Pal, Desire and Devotion, Baltimore, 2001, pp.106-7, no.43), and another formerly in the Lahiri
Collection (Christie’s, New York, 15 March 2016, lot 59). Also, the intricate use of silver and
copper inlay on a figure of this size is more common within the Indian tradition, while Tibetan
adaptations tend to be more rudimentary. Furthermore, the modeling of the sculpture in the
round is considerably less common in Tibetan copies.

Published
David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the
Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, p.55 & 57, fig.18.
F. Ricca, Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell’ Himalaya, Turin, 2004, fig.IV.22.

Exhibited
The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, 6 October – 30 December 1999.
Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell’ Himalaya, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, June –
September 2004.
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York,
2 March 2012 – 11 February 2013.

Provenance
The Nyingjei Lam Collection
On loan to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1996 – 2005
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005 – 2019

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