A RARE AND IMPRESSIVE PAINTING OF AN ELEVEN-HEADED AND MULTI-ARMED AVALOKITESVARA DATED 2ND YEAR OF THE CHONGZHEN PERIOD OF THE GREAT MING (1629 AD)

finely and subtly painted depicting the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara with ten heads and forty-eight arms, his principal hands held together before his chest in anjali mudra, and holding a kalasha vessel in his lap, with the remaining fan of arms surrounding the deity and holding a multitude of ritual implements in the hands, each with an eye in the palm, two arms held high above the tier of heads supporting Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, the bodhisattva wearing flowing robes and scarves, and with tresses of long black hair falling to the shoulders, seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus flower supported by an elaborately detailed lion throne and surrounded by a flaming halo, all set against a landscape filled with a host of Buddhist and Daoist deities, dignitaries and disciples, signed di zi Zhou Bangzhang, dated second year of the Chongzhen reign, yi yi (1629), and with one seal of the artist, on an elaborately painted and gilt mount

Yamanaka Shokai, Osaka.
Acquired from the above during the Taisho period (1912-1926).
Thereafter by descent in the family of the present owner.

The upper part of the painting and the mount is covered with a layer of dirt and is visibly darker than the lower half of the painting. There is extensive creasing to the blue-ground and gold-ground mount at the upper and lower ends of the painting (some of which is visible in the right hand catalogue illustration). There is some wear to the gilding and colours of the painted mount framing the actual painting. The painting itself has several horizontal cracks/folds that extend from one side of the painting to the other: one at approximately 9 inches above the lower edge of the painting, one at approximately 33 1/2 inches above the lower edge of the painting, and one at approximately 4 1/2 inches below the upper edge of the painting. Another crack runs across the central pair of hands held in front of her (visible in the left side catalogue illustration). The silk fabric of the canvas has cracked and broken along these cracks. There are also several long tears scattered across the length of the painting which were laid down on the mount at some point before mounting the painting on its present mount: two tears running down from the top edge to the left of the seated Buddha, one approximately 14 inches long, the second approximately 15 inches long. There is another tear running to the left of the uppermost raised pair of hand downwards approximately 10 inches. Another tear extends approximately 16 inches to the left hand side of the Avalokitesvara into the base below the lotus seat and an approximately 3 inch tear runs down the centre of the lotus seat. In the lower part of the painting to the left of the seated adorant figure there is a tear of approximately 8 inch length extending diagonally across to the left hand edge of the painting. There is some loss of and wear to the pigment to small areas of the painting and the inscriptions on several of the blue cartouches have been rubbed off. The colour is of a slightly more subdued and less yellow tone than the illustration suggests, and the overall detail is very fine and the colours vibrant.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The popular bodhisattva Avalokitesvara has myriad forms and numerous epithets: The Compassionate One, Lord of the World, Lotus Bearer. He is the embodiment of absolute compassion for all sentient beings, with infinite devotion to the alleviation of suffering. The bodhisattva, Being of Enlightenment, has renounced the state of Buddhahood to care for the world of samsara. This multi-armed and multi-headed manifestation represents the bodhisattva in his most esoteric form as Sahasrabhuja-sahasranetra Avalokitesvara, literally 'with a thousand arms and a thousand eyes', only a fraction of which are portrayed here. The ten heads symbolize the steps on the path to Buddhist enlightenment, represented here by the figure of Amitabha Buddha held aloft; Amitabha being the spiritual progenitor of the bodhisattva. The principal hands held before the heart symbolically protect the jewel of this enlightenment. Numerous inscribed cartouches throughout the painting identify the characters within the landscape and include the thirty-six revered officials and the twenty-eight lunar mansions.