A rare gilded bronze Udayana style Maitreya China, Ming dynasty

standing with hands held in the abhaya and varada mudra, gestures of reassurance and bestowal of charity, dressed in a long robe falling from the shoulders in undulating folds, the face with a compassionate expression, with an urna on the forehead and hair swept over the mound of the usnisha

The massive and heavily cast bronze, of unusual and impressive size, and probably cast in one piece, with a square aperture beneath the lower robe edge between the ankles leading to a hollow interior. The bronze beneath the gilded surface in good to fair condition, with no major knocks or abrasion. The middle finger of the proper left hand reattached, probably at the time of casting. A casting flaw running horizontally through the lower robe between the two areas of rippling cloth below the knees, visible in the area of gilt loss in the catalogue illustration, the crack strengthened and filled with gesso, or similar, filler prior to gilding. The surface of the bronze, "possibly" originally fire-gilded in selected areas such as the face and hands. The whole covered with brown and gold lacquer with flaking, losses and wear throughout. Tangs below the feet locating the figure into a relatively modern wooden base.
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.

This sculpture pays homage to an ancient Chinese tradition of depicting Maitreya, the Buddha of the Future, standing with hands held in abhaya and varada mudra, and robed in a style known in China from the late fourth or early fifth century as Udayana, where the Buddha's outer garment covers both shoulders and falls in stylised undulations. The style is derived from the Buddhist sculpture of ancient Gandhara and early Central Asian cultures, where Buddha images reflected western Classical influence in their flowing robes. Udayana is the ancient name of an area thought to be present-day Swat Valley, Pakistan, which was part of the early Gandhara region. Buddhist images displaying robes with pronounced folds, such as the colossal third or fourth century sculptures once standing at Bamiyan, were accessible to pilgrims via the Silk Road and the style thus found its way to China. It is recorded that the Chinese traveller Fa-hsien visited this site sometime around the beginning of the fifth century. Testimony to this migration of style is seen in the highly important gilt bronze figure in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, dated 486 and identified by inscription as Maitreya, where the Buddha's hands are held in abhaya and varada mudra, with the robe falling from the shoulders in stylised undulations, see Denise Patry Leidy, Notes on a Buddha Maitreya sculpture dated 486 in the Metropolitan Museum of  Art, New York, Oriental Art Magazine, vol. LV no. 3, 2005/6, pp. 22-32. The traditions surrounding sculpture such as this massive fifth century bronze were clearly known to the artists of the Ming period, and although their interpretation in the present sculpture is itself stylised, the intent in depicting Maitreya standing with undulating robes and the same hand gestures as fifth century works is to pay homage to this earlier period of Buddhist fervor and the icons with which it was associated. Ming period sculptures of Buddha generally show the concurrent fashions of loose and flowing outer garments with no stylised undulations. The hands are shown with pronounced webbing between the thumb and forefinger, one of the lakshana or identifying marks of a Buddha, but a feature that became increasingly less apparent in sculpture after this early period. By the Ming dynasty the tradition of showing the pronounced webbing was lost, yet it appears in this statue as part of the homage to the Udayana tradition. Again the hair recreates more or less precisely the style of the original but the characteristics of the facial expression are more typical of the Ming dynasty, and although the dating of archaistic works of art is inherently problematic, it is these features that would suggest the date of the work. This archaistic phenomenon was practised certainly from the early Ming period and through the Qing, cf. a Yongle figure of a standing Maitreya, formerly in the Speelman Collection, see Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 803; and an eighteenth century Qianlong example now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, see von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 553, pl. 158E. Maitreya is said to reside in the perfected world of Tushita Heaven, but in the future age will descend as teacher and saviour of an earthly paradise known as Ketumati. The bodhisattva's status in the Buddhist canon is paramount for he embodies the enduring hope for the salvation of all sentient beings.