Page 267 - Important Chinese Art Sothebys March 2019

686

propertY oF a neW YorK CItY prIVate
CoLLeCtor
A LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
AVALOKITESHVARA
MING DYNASTY, 16TH CENTURY
the eighteen-armed tantric form of the
bodhisattva seated in vajraparyankasana, two
hands joined in uttarabodhi mudra in front of
the chest, a hand directly adjacent with an eye
cast in the palm and in abhaya mudra, the other
likely once holding a lotus stem, the additional
arms radiating from the body and holding
varying attributes including lasso, bottle vase,
dharma wheel, conch, kundika, tablet, sword
hilt (blade now lost), cintamani, and phurba,
wearing a pierced crown centered with a small
amitabha, set upon a separately cast globular
lotus in full bloom with nine tiers of petals,
further raised on a standard of cylindrical
section flanked by scrollwork and terminating
in a hexagonal base of waves with a crouching
chilong, all within a galleried wall and raised on
bracket feet (3)
height overall 18 in., 45.7 cm
avalokiteshvara, or Guanyin, the most
commonly worshiped bodhisattva in Chinese
Buddhism, is depicted in many forms including
that with eighteen arms such as the present
piece. Zhunti Guanyin belongs to the esoteric
practice, with the arms and implements
symbolizing the eighteen paths and expedient
ways followers may gain enlightenment.
Compare the present with a related figure
from the collection of eric and Betty Bass, sold
in these rooms, 26th march 1996, lot 3, and
another sold in our London rooms, 12th-14th
July 2006, lot 466.
$ 40,000-60,000

明十六世紀 銅鎏金準提觀音坐像

265