Page 141 - Christies Fine Chinese Works of Art March 2016 New York

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A LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA

EARLY MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY

The bodhisattva sits in dhyanasana with the right hand raised
in vitarkamudra and the left held above the lap. He is clad
in a voluminous dhoti and adorned with various jewelry
and a fowing sash draped over the shoulders. The face is
serene, with bow-shaped mouth and downcast eyes, and is
surmounted by a diadem centered with a diminutive image
of Amitabha.
24º in. (61.6 cm.) high
$80,000-120,000

Aspects of the present fgure exhibit characteristics typical to
the imperial Buddhist style of the early 15th century, which was
itself heavily infuenced by contemporary Nepalese sculpture. The
slim waist and poised chest, for example, stand in contrast to the
rounder bodies obscured by heavy drapery found in earlier Song
dynasty sculpture, and which returned to a certain extent in the
later Ming dynasty. Similarly, the treatment of the drapery, jewelry,
parts of the crown, and the tall chignon of the hair, all conform
to the early 15th century Buddhist style. The full face and the
style of the central part of the crown, however, conform to a more
traditional Chinese style of Ming dynasty sculpture. Likewise, the
manner in which the work is decorated, with the bronze covered
in red lacquer and subsequently gilt, stands in contrast to the
expensive fre-gilding technique of the Nepalese craftsmen of the
imperial workshops.
明初十五世紀 銅鎏金觀音坐像

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