Page 258 - Sothebys Important Chinese Art April 3 2018

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A LARGE BRONZE FIGURE OF 明十六至十七世紀 銅騎象普賢菩薩像
SAMANTABHADRA ON AN ELEPHANT
MING DYNASTY, 16TH – 17TH CENTURY
cast seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus base resting on a
caparisoned elephant, the Bodhisattva depicted with the left
hand held in apanamudra and the right hand raised holding
a leaf, dressed in long flowing robes falling into voluminous
pleats, further embellished with beaded jewellery, the face
with a benevolent expression with downcast eyes and a smile,
surmounted by an elaborate five-leaf diadem enclosing smaller
Buddhist figures, the elephant finely portrayed with its head
gently swayed to one side, its curled trunk flanked by a pair of
triple tusks, all supported on a rectangular lotus pedestal, the
bronze patinated to an attractive dark reddish-brown tone
65.4 cm, 25¾ in.
HK$ 1,000,000-2,000,000
US$ 128,000-256,000

Samantabhadra is the Bodhisattva associated with the
practise of Buddhist teaching and joins Manjushri, the lord of
transcendent wisdom, in a trinity with Shakyamuni Buddha.
The bodhisattva is borne by a white elephant, symbolic of the
strength achieved through the practise of Buddhism.
The bronze is typical of later Ming works, finely cast and of rich
colour, and made with elegant reference to antiquity, the heavy
and elaborate jewellery and voluminous undulating robes
echoing the classical styles of Northern Qi through Song period
sculpture. Compare a figure of Samantabhadra seated on a
recumbent elephant sold together with a figure of Manjushri on
the back of a lion in our New York rooms, 23rd March 2010, lot
80; and another of Samantabhadra seated on an elephant, sold
at Christie’s Hong Kong, 28th November 2006, lot 1610.
There is a long tradition of depicting the Bodhisattva
Samantabhadra in bronze. A Song dynasty figure of
Samantabhadra in the collection of the Palace Museum,
Beijing, is illustrated as one of a pair, together with the
Bodhisattva Manjusri in Zhongguo meishu quanji. Diaosu bian
[The complete collection of Chinese art: Sculptures], vol.
5, 1989, Beijing, pls. 153-4. See also the example from the
collection of Sakamoto Goro, sold in these rooms, 5th October
2016, lot 3222, and an earlier Tang dynasty gilt-bronze
prototype, previously exhibited at the Kubuso Museum, Japan,
1993, sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 735.
The quality of the figure and definition of the serene facial
features is also reminiscent of that on a sixteenth century
lacquer-gilt bronze figure of the same size, depicting
Simhanada Avalokiteshvara, sold in these rooms, 3rd October
2017, lot 3666.

256 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比