A gilt-bronze figure of Amitabha Buddha, Ming dynasty, Xuande / Zhengtong period

California Private Collection.

This finely cast figure of Amitabha Buddha is notable for its fine casting and gilding, as evidenced in the naturalistically modelled folds of the robes and in the figure’s serene facial expression. Stylistically it follows in the tradition established in the Yuan period, when Tibetan Buddhism became the court religion and a new sculptural style began to appear. Figures with gently smiling faces, full rounded bodies and tiered thrones are depicted in the early 14th century woodblocks made for the monastery of Yanshen Yuan, Hangzhou, and illustrated in Heather Stoddard Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, Warminster, 1975, pls 26, 29 and 30. It is possibly these images, which reflect the style favored in Tibet at the time, that craftsmen active in the early 15th century used for inspiration.