Page 64 - Chiense works of art sothebys march 14 2017 nyc

540

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

62 SOTHEBY’S