A PARTIALLY COLD-GILDED BRONZE FIGURE OF SURYAVAIROCANA QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD

seated atop a lotus pedestal, the right hand held in karanamudra, with a lotus blossom supporting a book and solar disc rising to the shoulder, the left hand resting on the lap, wearing a dhoti with chased borders, a fluttering scarf, jewelry, and a five-leafed crown fronting a tiered topknot surmounted by a flaming jewel, the flesh areas cold gilded, the hair and face detailed in pigments, the reign mark reading Da Qing Qianlong nian jing zuo cast in relief in a cartouche on the front of the pedestal within a triple beaded border, the characters, Riguangbianzhao pusa, identifying the figure as Suryaprabha, engraved above the lower edge, the back of the lotus base engraved gongxing genben, the base sealed with a copper plate base engraved with a double vajra

Collection of Fred and Grace Keler, Maine (until 1974).
Collection of James A. Hourigan, Missouri, and thence by descent. 

There is a loss to the little finger of the right hand, wear to the gilt-lacquer and pigments and the expected wear to the surface consistent with age. There is light encrustation and minor casting flaws to the thighs behind the scarf, and to the lip surrounding the base plate, which is slightly loose. There is a serial number and the name of the deity inscribed on the base plate in pigment.
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 inscription above the lower edge, Riguangbianzhao pusa, and the presence of the solar disc identify the figure as Suryavairocana, also known as Suryaprabha. This bodhisattva is one of the principal attendants of Bhaisajyaguru, the other being Candraprabha, represented by a lunar disc. The name Suryaprabha literally means radiant sunlight. These two bodhisattva, representing the sun and moon, serve Bhaisajyaguru in the eastern pure land of Vaiduryanirbhasa.

The Qianlong emperor was a devoted Buddhist and a keen follower of Tibetan Lamaist teachings. He had bronze figures of the Tibetan Buddhist Pantheon made in the Palace Workshop to be enshrined in eight Buddhist halls. These halls were built in a style called liupinlou (six category halls), because the figures enshrined in them were divided into six categories.  Four of these halls were built in the Forbidden City, for example, the Baoxianglou and the Fanhualou; three were in Chengde and one, the Fanxianglou was in the Summer Palace, then known as the Changchun Garden.

The style of figures enshrined in these halls were based on the style of the Ming dynasty favored by the Yongle emperor and derived from Nepalese and Mongolian works, highlighted with cold-gilding. Patricia Ann Berger, Empire of Emptiness: Buddhist Art and Political Authority in Qing China,  University of Hawaii, 2003, p. 107, translates the six categories as the Prajnaparamita (supreme wisdom) class, Supreme yoga class - father tantras (yang), Supreme yoga class - mother tantra (yin), yoga class, Caryayoga - action-ritual class, and Kriyayoga - devotion class.  The inscription on the back of the present lot reading gongxing genben, indicates that it belongs to the sixth category, the devotion class, and was likely enshrined in the sixth chamber of one of those halls. It is recorded that 787 images were enshrined in the Fanhualou and 732 images in the Baoxianglou. Today, only the Fanhualou retains its collection of images.

A similar figure of Suryavairocana currently displayed in the Fanhualou with similar Qianlong mark and identifying inscription is illustrated in Fanhualou / Statues in the Sanctuary of Buddhist Essence, Beijing, 2013, Vol. II, no. 738. Another similar figure of Suryavairocana from the Baoxianglou is illustrated by Walter Eugene Clark, Two Lamaistic Pantheons, New York, reprinted 1965, p. 197, no. 6A27. Related figures have sold at Christie's New York, 22nd March 2007, lot 215; 15th September 2011, lot 1376; in our London rooms, 4th November 2009, lot 215; and in these rooms, 17th and 18th March 2015, lot 376.