A FINE AND RARE GILT-BRONZE SEATED MAITREYA MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGLE

with hands in dharmachakra mudra and holding the stems of naga-puspa flowers, the hair drawn up in a knotted jatamakuta with tresses of blue-painted hair falling to the shoulders, an urna on the forehead, and wearing bodhisattva jewellery including a crown framing the forehead and tied with billowing sashes at the ears, circular studded earrings, beaded necklaces, bracelets and armbands, anklets and foot adornments, a scarf around the bare shoulders flowing over the arms, and a voluminous lower garment gathered at the waist and fastened by a beaded girdle, seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus pedestal engraved on its upper surface with a Yongle reign mark and sealed with a plate beneath incised with a visvavajra

The overall condition is very good. The gilding is in very good condition with only light rubbing to the face, hands, belt on the back and the lappets on the base. The blue pigment in the hair appears to have been re-touched with a brighter turquoise blue. The base plate has been opened, contents removed and re-sealed.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Maitreya is visualised in this manifestation as a princely bodhisattva residing in Tushita heaven. Hands are held in the teaching posture and hold stems of flowers from the naga-puspa, the tree that it is believed Maitreya will sit beneath for his teachings on earth in a future aeon. The vessel that rests on the flower head at his right shoulder is said to signify his future reincarnation as a Brahman, see Christian Luczanits in Gandhara: The Buddhist Heritage of Pakistan, Mainz, 2009, p. 250.

The worship of Maitreya is a cult of hope for an enlightened Buddhist age of the future. Another Yongle gilt bronze, formerly in the Speelman Collection, shows Maitreya in his manifestation of future Buddha dressed in a simple sanghati and standing with hands in abhaya and varada mudra, see Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 803. At least three other Yongle statues are known representing Maitreya as a regal bodhisattva, evidence of the popularity of the cult during this period, see Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, pl. 343F: The Chang Foundation, Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, cat. 22: Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong 1981, 147E (later restored without a vase and now in the Aschmann collection).

The exotic naga-puspa leaves falling from the stems at the shoulders of the sculptures identify the images with Maitreya and are quite distinct from the lotus or other foliage depicted on Yongle statues of different iconography. This fine example remains in excellent condition retaining its undisturbed consecration plate beneath engraved with a visvavajra. The colour of the gilding is exceptional and the modelling exemplary throughout.