Page 86 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022
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A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF USHNISHAVIJAYA Antecedents of Qing Buddhist sculptures lay in Pala designs and are
QING DYANSTY, 18TH CENTURY heavily referenced here in the broad foreheads, supple skin, subtly
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4724 rendered incised eyebrows, high-bridged nose, and crescent shaped
13 cm (5 1/8 in.) high eyelids. The wide shoulders and thin waist along with the s-shaped
curve of the body recall the sensuousness of the body in Newari works
HKD150,000 - 250,000 of art. The slender limbs, high chignon, as well as the soft folds of the
layered silks, though, speak of a more characteristic Chinese aesthetic.
清 十八世紀 銅鎏金尊勝佛母像 The square petals to reveal to lotus styles commonly articulated during
the Qing dynasty.
This sweet figure pays tribute to Ushnishavijaya, the goddess of
longevity, who is propitiated as one of the three long-life deities with Compare to a figure of Vajrasattva published in von Schroeder, Indo-
Amitayus and White Tara. She is believed to appear from the light Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 548, no. 156A. Also refer to a figure of
emanated from Buddha’s ushnisha. A miniature effigy of Amitabha and Amitayus in Qing Court Collection for treatment of the jewelry, sash,
a visvavajra are held in her slender arms. and skirt with patterned hems (Wang ed., The Complete Collection
of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Statues of Tibet
[Zangchuan Fojiao Zaoxiang], Hong Kong, 2003, p. 238, fig. 227).
Provenance
Collection of Mrs Oesh Gonin, Galerie La Vieille Fontaine, Lausanne,
acquired in the 1980s-1990s
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84 | BONHAMS