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1012
           A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MAITREYA
           CENTRAL TIBET, 15TH CENTURY
           Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4717
           28.5 cm (9 in.) high

           HKD2,000,000 - 3,000,000
           藏中 十五世紀 銅鎏金彌勒菩薩像

           Maitreya is seated on a stepped pedestal that recalls the North Eastern Pala
           dynasty with protective lions and scrolling motifs on the upper edge and
           supporting pillars. The frontal seated position with his feet resting on a semicircular
           lotus platform is a posture known as bhadrasana (auspicious posture) or
           pralambapadasana (extended legs posture), which is found in Indian art as
           early as the Kushan period. In Himalayan art, the pose is usually reserved for
           images of Buddha or Maitreya preaching in their respective heavens. In the major
           monasteries of Tibet, such as Tashilhunpo or the Jokhang at Lhasa, the largest
           and most central image is of Maitreya in bodhisattva form, seated on a lion throne
           with a lotus foot rest and his hands in dharmachakramudra.

           The inspired artist responsible for this remarkable bronze has employed a number
           of small variants and additions to enliven this most auspicious image of the
           bodhisattva. Namely the loose tresses that fall over his back are arranged in a
           looping open knot and his lower garment spilling over the back of the platform in
           a neatly pleated elliptical curve. The slightly waved scarves extend from the arms
           to the top of the platform, where they fan out in fish-tail pleats, acting as both a
           casting support and a decorative device. His jewelry and beaded swags terminate
           in bells issuing inverted leaves and round gems, and armbands of lotus petals
           bearing a piece of inset stone at the center of a pointed five-lobed leaf are similar
           to that of the atelier of Sonam Gyaltsen (Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot
           3033).

           Each of the vines flanking his shoulders terminate in unique lotus and flower
           heads, with the two primary stems supporting flame-like jewels. His defining
           attribute of a stupa, signifies Maitreya as the Buddha of the future, here placed at
           the top of his elaborate chignon surrounded by the tall leaves of his crown.

           See a related gilt-bronze figure of Maitreya, dated to the 15th century, in the
           Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Tibetan
           Buddhist Sculptures, Beijing, 2011, pl. 51 and another in the Jokang (von
           Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, Vol. 2, 2001, p. 1062, no. 271). Also
           compare a related yet lesser refined example dated to the 16th century in von
           Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 441, no. 118D. A later figure of
           Maitreya, dated to the 17th century, is in the Museum Rietberg Zurich, Uhlig, On
           the Path to Enlightenment , 1995, pl. 39 and another seated on a similar base is
           in a private collection in the Netherlands (see van Alphen et. Al, Cast for Eternity,
           2005, pp. 200-1, no. 67.
           Provenance
           Private European Collection, acquired in 2001


















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