Page 14 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

605
A BRASS FIGURE OF MAITREYA
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16816
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) high

$60,000 - 80,000

印度東北部 帕拉時期 十一/十二世紀 彌勒菩薩銅像

The stupa nestled within his headdress and the kundika by his left shoulder identify this figure
as the Future Buddha, Maitreya. Maitreya is considered the embodiment of perfected loving
kindness. He preaches in his heavenly abode until it is time to usher in the enlightened salvation
of all beings. Visually alluding to this, the bronze depicts him seated in a graceful posture
of ease (lalitasana) with his hands brought together in a mudra that signifies ‘Furthering the
Dharma’ and prompts lotus flowers to bloom by his shoulders. Rising from murky waters, the
lotus is a symbol of every being’s ability to achieve nirvana regardless of their past.

Whereas most Pala sculptures typically depict bodhisattvas wearing crowns and jewelry, in their
absence here, the artist emphasizes the youthful physique and inherent grace of the deified
being. The convention is not without precedent, also seen in a closely related bronze Maitreya
currently missing from the Bodh Gaya Museum, published in Roy, Eastern Indian Bronzes, New
Delhi, 1986, no.233a. The two sculptures also share similar chignons, sinuous lotus stalks, and
plump lotus bases, while the present lot has a glossy, unexcavated patina that indicates it was
carried to Tibet in antiquity.

A third Maitreya of similar style, but with the addition of flowing ribbons by the ears, is
preserved in the British Museum (von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981,
p.283, no.69D). And for a stylistic comparison of the lotus base, see a Tara in the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York (1987.142.346).

Published
Amy Heller, “Buddhist Art in the Himalayas and Tibet”, in Schulenberg et al., Buddha: 108
Encounters, Köln, 2015, p.81, fig.5.

Provenance
Private Swiss Collection since 2009

12 | BONHAMS