Page 8 - Indian and Himalayan Art Mar 21, 2018 NYC
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THE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN
                                                                              301
                                                                              A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF
                                                                               LOKANATHA AVALOKITESHVARA
                                                                              NORTHEAST INDIA, PALA PERIOD,
                                                                              11TH CENTURY
                                                                              3Ω in. (9 cm.) high
                                                                              $15,000-20,000
                                                                              PROVENANCE
                                                                              Dr. J.R. Belmont collection, Basel, before 1964,
                                                                              by repute.
                                                                              Christian Humann (d.1981), Pan-Asian Collection,
                                                                              New York.
                                                                              The collection of Robert H. Ellsworth, New York,
                                                                              by 1982.
                                                                              Christie’s New York, 21 September 2007, lot 100.
                                                                              LITERATURE
                                                                              C.L. Reedy, Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style,
                                                                              and Choice, Newark, 1997, fg. N246
                                                                              Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item
                                                                              no. 24387
                                                                              This form of Avalokiteshvara, known in English as
                                                                              “Savior of the World”, was particularly popular during
                                                                              the early Pala period in Northeastern India. He is one
                                                                              of  three  principal  deities  of  Mahayana  Buddhism,
                                                                              along with Shakyamuni, who represents the present,
                                                                              and Maitreya, the future Buddha. Lokanatha displays
                                                                              some  distinctly  Shaivite  features,  namely  a  high
                                                                              chignon of coiled locks and a sensuous, supple body.
                                                                              By the eleventh century, however, one can clearly see
                                                                              the fusion of Brahmanical and Buddhist iconography
                                                                              that appears in this region—particularly the shakta
                                                                              infuence of jata in Buddhist images. Here, an efigy
                                                                              of Amitabha sitting at the base of the jata identifes
                                                                              him as unequivocally Buddhist.

                                                                              Centuries of adulation reveal a rich coppery patina
                                                                              highlighted  by  remnants  of  the  original  gilding.
                                                                              Fine details such as the lotus buds at his shoulders
                                                                              and traces of a stippled fower motif on the dhoti
                                                                              suggest that despite its miniature size, this sculpture
                                                                              was created by a highly accomplished artist. For
                                                                              comparison, see a twelfth century bronze fgure of
                                                                              Maitreya in the Nyingjei Lam collection (HAR item
                                                                              no. 68420).
                                                                              印度東北部 帕拉王朝 十一世紀 鎏金銅觀音菩薩像

















                                                                              Chandra L. Reedy, Himalayan Bronzes: Technology, Style,
                                                                              and Choice, Newark, 1997, cover and p. 230, fg. N246.
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