Page 40 - March 17 2017 Chinese Art NYC, Christies

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A DATED GILT-BRONZE BUDDHIST VOTIVE STELE WITH MAITREYA

NORTHERN QI DYNASTY (AD 550-577), DATED BY INSCRIPTION TO AD 557
The group has a central fgure of the bodhisattva Maitreya seated with the pendent legs crossed in front of
a petal-shaped nimbus bordered with fames, with right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left in varada
mudra and fanked by further bodhisattvas standing on lotus plants.
6¬ in. (16.8 cm.) high, wood stand, Japanese wood box
$30,000-50,000

PROVENANCE

In Japan prior to 1996.
Considered the successor to the historical Shakyamuni Buddha, Maitreya is regarded as the Buddha
of the Future and presides in the Tushita Heaven until his wisdom is required on earth. By Chinese
calculation of the day, the infuence of Shakyamuni’s teachings would end in the year AD 552 – roughly
1,000 years after the death of the historical Buddha – ushering in the mofa, or period of the decline
of Buddhist law. Such millennial speculation gave rise to the belief that decline and corruption were
imminent and that the appearance of Maitreya as the Buddha of the Future could not be far away, which
led to a surge in Maitreya’s popularity in the 6th century and the resultant increase in the number of
Maitreya images created for worship.
In sculpture from this period, Maitreya is usually identifed by the so-called ‘Western’ pose, with both
feet pendent, and sometimes, as in the present case, with ankles crossed. Compare the present altar
with a related example, dated Late Eastern Wei to Northern Qi dynasty, in the collection of the Sano Art
Museum, Japan, illustrated in Zhongguo liu shi hai wai fo jiao zao xiang zong he tu mu (Comprehensive
Illustrated Catalogue of Chinese Buddhist Statues in Overseas Collections), vol. 2, Beijing, 2005, no. 373.
A similar gilt-bronze Buddhist altar was sold at Christie’s New York, 19 September 2006, lot 127.
北齊天保八年（557年） 銅鎏金彌勒菩薩三尊像

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