A SMALL GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA, TANG DYNASTY

Auction Closed

September 23, 08:35 PM GMT

Estimate

30,000 - 50,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

A SMALL GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA

TANG DYNASTY

唐銅鎏金觀音立像

beautifully cast standing with a soft sway to the hips, the proper left hand raised with a willow branch, the lower holding a bottle, crowned with a regal headdress centered by Buddha Amitabha, the bodhisattva's sensuous body outfitted in layers of torques and a body necklace, a jeweled belt securing the dhoti hanging in cascading folds with a celestial sash flowing to either side, all supported by a waisted lotus pedestal base, modern stand, Japanese wood box (4)

Height 4 in., 10.2 cm

Japanese Private Collection, acquired prior to 1930.

Christie's New York, 14th September 2017, lot 827.

來源

日本私人收藏，得於1930年之前

紐約佳士得2017年9月14日，編號827

Representations of Avalokitesvara during the Sui and Tang periods frequently depict the bodhisattva adorned in princely jewels and a crown, bearing a 'pure water vessel', believed to heal or bestow immortality upon worshippers, in one hand; and a willow branch, also representative of healing, in the other. The willow branch iconography can be traced to the complex sinicization of Avalokiteshvara in relation to the developments in Chinese worship of the deity, as the attribute is not seen in Indian and Tibetan depictions of the bodhisattva.