Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara en bronze doré Chine, Dynastie Ming, XVE-XVIE siècle

assis en dhyanasana, un bol dans la main gauche, la main droite relevée tenant une tige, l'expression sereine, les yeux mi-clos, une robe nouée sous la poitrine, un châle recouvrant sa tête et son diadème orné du bouddha Amithabu, la robe richement ciselée laissant apparaître son collier

There are a few small nicks to the edges of her robe, expected surface dirt, light wear and pitting to the gilding in areas. The top section of the flower stem she holds in her left hand is broken and missing (showing on the illustration in the catalogue). There are a few scattered original rectangular metal patches flushed onto the surface (essentially on her knees), these were generally added after the cast and before the gilding to correct some minor casting defects. The gilding is good.
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This figure of Avalokitesvara is impressive for its large size and ornate detailing and rare for the veiled head gear she adorns ; see a related gilt-bronze figure of Avalokitesvara of magnificent proportions also wearing a veiled crown embellished with a figure of Amitabha, in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, was included in A Special Exhibition of Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1996, cat. no. 24.

Avalokitesvara is the most popular of all the bodhisattvas, appearing in myriad forms with numerous epithets : The Compassionate One, Lord Who Gazes Down, Lord of the World, and Lotus Bearer. The compassion of the bodhisattva is expressed in the subtle gestures of this elegant sculpture, the mudras signifying the bestowal of charity and reassurance. The cult of Avalokitesvara in China is interwoven with that of Guanyin and manifestations of the bodhisattva developed independently from Tibetan Lamaist traditions. This statue of Avalokitesvara, identified by the small effigy of Amitabha on the crown, has been cast in the traditional Chinese taste, as seen in the fuller proportions of the torso and face.

For a later example of a figure of Avalokitesvara cast in this style and head gear, but holding a small child and seated on a lotus flower base, see one in the Warren Cox collection, illustrated in Hugo Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, Tokyo, 1967, pl. 73. Further related figures of Avalokitesvara but adorning an elaborate crown, include one in the Denver Art Museum, Denver, published in Hai-wai yi-chen. Chinese Art in Overseas Collections: Buddhist Sculpture, vol. 1, Taipei, 1986, pl. 176 ; another of this size sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 30^th April 1995, lot 606A ; and a smaller example sold in our New York rooms, 8^th May 1981, lot 72.