Page 62 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

THE PROPERTY OF A DISTINGUISHED GENTLEMAN

326
A SILVER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF
PADMAPANI LOKESHVARA
NORTHEAST INDIA, BIHAR, PALA PERIOD, 11TH-12TH CENTURY
4º in. (10.8 cm.) high

$25,000-35,000

PROVENANCE
Dr J.R. Belmont Collection, Basel, by repute.
The Pan-Asian Collection (Christian Humann), by 1977, by repute.
Robert Hatfeld Ellsworth, New York.
Christie’s New York, 21 September 2007, lot 103.

Powerfully cast despite its small size, the bodhisattva of compassion is seated
in lalitasana on a beaded double-lotus base, his right hand lowered in varada
mudra, the gesture of dispensing boons, and and his left holds the stem of
a lotus. His benevolent expression is enhanced with silver-inlaid eyes and
surmounted by an elaborate topknot of dreadlocks (jatas). A product of the
Pala period, this important dynasty that fourished in eastern India from the
eighth to the twelfth century produced artworks of a distinct style heavily
infuenced by the Gupta period aesthetic. The Pala style traveled from India to
Nepal, China and Tibet, and served as an important foundation for sculptural
and painting traditions in subsequent centuries. The double-lotus base over
the stepped plinth is, for instance, a widely-used style created during this
period and emulated widely for many centuries thereafter. The backside of the
present fgure’s base is adorned with what is likely a dedicatory inscription in
a Devanagari script, with one letter per lotus petal. For a very similar fgure,
compare with a bronze fgure of Maitreya illustrated by U. von Schroeder,
Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 283, fg. 69D.

A silver-inlaid bronze fgure of Maitreya; Northeastern India, Pala period, (another view with inscription)
11th-12th century; 4 ⅝ in. (11.7 cm.) high; sold at Christie’s New York, 20
March 2019, lot 634, for US $87,500.