A GOOD LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA MING DYNASTY

well cast seated in dhyanasana with hands held in bhumisparsa mudra and dhyana mudra, wearing loose fitting robes incised with floral borders, his face with gentle smile and flanked by long pendulous earlobes and his hair bound in tight curls around the usnisa, all supported on a seperately cast lotus base rising on a columnar stem from a base of swirling waves within a hexagonal balustrade

Private Collection, Dresden , c. 1905 (by repute).

The art of casting Buddhist sculptures flourished during the Ming dynasty when a large number of figures were produced. The present piece, with its elaborate lotus pedestal, is a fine example of figures known from this period and is remarkable for its bold modelling and heavy casting, making generous use of the metal. 

A comparable gilt-bronze figure of Buddha seated on a related high pedestal was sold in these rooms, 30th March 1978, lot 57; and another was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 17th November 1988, lot 228.

For the possible inspiration of figures of this type, see a bronze figure of Sakyamuni dated in accordance with 1467 and inscribed with a dedicatory passage, illustrated in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pl. 150D, and sold in these rooms, 19th December lot 159.