A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF SHADAKSHARI AVALOKITESHVARA 15TH – 16TH CENTURY |

well cast and portrayed seated in vajraparyankasana, the principal hands in anjalimudra and the attendant arms raised in vitarkamudra, the left hand grasping an utpala lotus stalk meandering upwards and blossoming at the shoulders, the right clasping a rosary, dressed in a dhoti tied with a bejewelled belt with tassels falling into voluminous folds underneath the crossed legs, adorned with sumptuous ornamental jewellery including earrings, beaded necklaces, bracelets, armbands and anklets, the serene expression accentuated with downcast eyes and a subtle benign smile, crowned with a five-leaf diadem before a high chignon set with a miniature seated Amitabha Buddha, all supported on a beaded-edged double-lotus pedestal, the top edge of the pedestal engraved with four characters reading Yongle nian zao (made in the Yongle reign), the base sealed and incised with a double-vajra, engraved along the edge of the plate with Chinese inscription reading waidu jingjin erliang wuqian sifen sanli ('the exterior gilt with 2.543 taels of pure gold')

The Radiant Ming 1368-1644 through the Min Chiu Society Collection, Hong Kong Museum of History, Hong Kong, 2015, cat. no. 251.

Good overall condition. There is an insignificant break to one stem above the left hand. There is minor rubbing to the gilding, tiny bruises and dents and other general surface wear. The base is sealed.
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This finely cast gilt-bronze sculpture of Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara is a personification of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara's six syllable (sadaksari) mantra, om mani padme hum (homage to the jewel in the lotus). The first known description of the mantra appears in the Karandavyuha Sutra compiled at the end of the 4th century or beginning of the 5th century AD, where Shakyamuni Buddha introduces Avalokiteshvara, and praises the mantra as being the most beneficial. The popularity of this mantra led to its personification and this form of Avalokiteshvara is the patron, and one of the most popular deities in Tibet. All Dalai Lamas are believed to be earthly manifestations of this deity.

Although the current figure is engraved with a Yongle nian zao mark, and an additional inscription along the base plate reading waidu jingjin erliang wuqian sifen sanli (‘the exterior is gilded with 2,543 taels of pure gold’), it appears to be a 15th century Tibetan example that was later treasured in a Chinese context. However, as Yongle examples created at the Imperial workshops in Beijing are so deeply influenced by Newari craftsmanship, with characteristic delicate feminine features sensitively rendered on their serene faces, in a manner differing from other 14th and 15th century Chinese Buddhist sculptures, it is difficult to pinpoint precisely where the current figure, which has such pronounced Newari features, emanates from.

For Yongle mark and period gilt-bronze figures of Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara, see one in the Jokhang, Lhasa, with cold-painted face, illustrated in Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, p. 1275, pl. 355B-C; another from the Berti Aschmann Collection in the Museum Rietberg, illustrated in Helmut Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment: The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, pp. 100-101, pl. 53; and a smaller example from the Chang Foundation, illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1993, p. 75, no. 30. For Yongle gilt-bronze figures of Shadakshari Avalokiteshvara sold at auction, see the example sold in our New York rooms, 20th March 2002, lot 171, another at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30th May 2005, lot 1245, and a third in these rooms, 3rd October 2017, lot 3137.