Page 64 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc
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                                                                                                                                                             PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF JOHN
                                                                                                                                                             MANN, SOLD TO BENEFIT THE CENTER OF
                                                                                                                                                             SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

                                                                                                            A MASSIVE GILT-LACQUERED
                                                                                                            WOOD FIGURE OF AMITABHA
                                                                                                            MING DYNASTY

                                                                                                                                                  seated in dhyanasana, the hands joined in
                                                                                                                                                  dhyanamudra on the lap, the sanghati open at the
                                                                                                                                                  chest to reveal the antaravasaka tied with a cord,
                                                                                                                                                  the head with strong features, downcast eyes and
                                                                                                                                                  gentle smile, below tightly curled hair covering
                                                                                                                                                  the ushnisha and surrounding the oval cudamani,
                                                                                                                                                  all supported on a separately made pedestal
                                                                                                                                                  carved to the front with dragons confronted on a
                                                                                                                                                  ‘ aming pearl’, with a separate mandorla (3)
                                                                                                                                                  Height of gure 50¼ in., 127.5 cm
                                                                                                                                                  Massive gures such as the present lot, would
                                                                                                                                                  have been enshrined in the main hall of Buddhist
                                                                                                                                                  temples, often called the Mahavira Hall, or
                                                                                                                                                  Hall of the Great Hero. In orthodox temples,
                                                                                                                                                  the Buddha gures are enshrined in sets of
                                                                                                                                                  three, representing Shakyamuni, Amitabha and
                                                                                                                                                  Bhaisajyaguru.
                                                                                                                                                  Shakyamuni represents our mundane world,
                                                                                                                                                  while Amitabha presides over Sukhavati, the
                                                                                                                                                  Pure Land of the West, and Bhaisajyaguru the
                                                                                                                                                  Pure Land of the East. Amitabha is the most
                                                                                                                                                  popular buddha in Chinese Pure Land Buddhism.
                                                                                                                                                  Recitation of his name is believed to aid one’s
                                                                                                                                                  rebirth into his Pure Land.
                                                                                                                                        $ 40,000-60,000

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