A RARE GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS PALA REVIVAL STYLE, QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

cast seated in dhyanasana on a lotus throne with beaded edges with hands held in dhyanamudra supporting akalasha, the face with a serene expression adorned with an urna on the forehead, the hair neatly tied into a knotted jatamukuta behind a five-leaf crown with tresses of hair falling to the shoulders, adorned with ornamental jewellery, including earrings, beaded necklaces, bracelets, armbands and anklets, dressed in a loose garment gathered at the waist with drapery on the base, the garment inlaid in gilt and silver with floral motifs

Hoesch-Gonin collection, Switzerland, by repute.

The early to mid Qing dynasty saw a proliferation of the production of Buddhist bronzes cast in the style of earlier examples from the holdings of the court collection. With access to the original sculptures, the craftsmen were able to produce close emulations, such as a Pala-period bronze sculpture of a dancing dakini illustrated by Wang Jiapeng, Buddhist Art from Rehol. Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taipei, 1999, p. 142, pl. 58.

The current example is closely related to another copper alloy figure of Amitayus in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 2008, p. 222, pl. 211. Smaller in size, the Palace Museum figure shares the same iconography, decoration on the robes and complex openwork mandorla. The current figure is more elaborate, with a particularly successful gold and silver-inlaid textile design. A smaller Pala Revival style bronze figure of Amitayus was sold in these rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 3118; and another at Christie's Hong Kong, 28th October 2002, lot 881.