Page 98 - Christie's Fine Chinese Paintings March 19 2019 Auction

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION,
CALIFORNIA
1641
A RARE LARGE OCHRE, GREEN,
TURQUOISE AND AUBERGINE-GLAZED
SEATED FIGURE OF AMITAYUS
MING-QING DYNASTY (1368-1911)
The fgure is modeled seated in dhyanasana upon a
separate lotus leaf-form base, dressed in a fowing
dhoti and draped in elaborate jewels, the hands
held in dhyanamudra supporting a vase. The head
is adorned with a foliate crown, and has a long
tubular ftting at the base of the neck allowing it to
ft into the body.
22Ω in. (57.2 cm.) high
$8,000-12,000

PROVENANCE
Frank Caro, successor to C. T. Loo
(according to label).
Acquired in Newtown, Massachusetts, 1970s, and
thence by descent to the present owner.

Amitayus, known as the ‘Buddha of Infnite Life,’
is one of the most popular deities in the Tibetan
Buddhist pantheon; his typical iconography is
recognized by the seated full-lotus posture with
hands in meditation supporting a kalasha bottle
containing the elixir of immortality.
Ceramic Buddhist images of such unusually
large size are extremely rare, and were probably
specifcally commissioned for ritual display in
temples situated within the imperial palace
precincts.
Compare the present fgure to a very similar
example, from the collection of the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, sold at Christie’s New
York, 15 September 2016, lot 845.
明/清 三彩無量壽佛坐像

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