AN IMPORTANT GILT-BRONZE VOTIVE STELE OF GUANYIN NORTHERN WEI DYNASTY, DATED 8TH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF TAIHE CORRESPONDING TO 484 AD.

the figure cast with right hand holding a stem with large lotus bud over the shoulder, the left hand to the side holding a flask, standing on a domed base raised on a four-legged plinth, the upper body bare except for a triangular necklace, clad in a dhoti and long scarf draped over the shoulders and upper arms, the face with a pensive expression below hair swept into a chignon fronted by a three-leafed crown, framed by a circular halo of radiating lotus petals, all against an integral lotus leaf-shaped mandorla incised with two registers of flames, the back incised with a dedicatory inscription, continuing onto  the sides and back of the plinth, Japanese wood box (7)

Collection of Chen Jieqi (1813-1884) (Fig. 1).
Collection of Marquis Blasco Lanza d’Ajeta,  Italian Ambassador to Japan, 1952.
Christie’s London, 26th October 1964, lot 153.
Mayuyama & Co., Ltd., Tokyo, acquired between 1960-1969.

Rikuchou Jidai No Kondoubutsu, Kuboso Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi, Japan, 1991, cat. p.48, no.48.

Seigai Omura, Shina bijutsu-shi, Choso-hen, Tokyo, 1915-20, pl. 159, fig. 465, from a Lo Chen-yu rubbing.
Hugo Musterberg, ‘A Group of Chinese Buddhist Bronzes in the d’Ajeta Collection,’ Artibus Asiae, vol. XVI, no. 3, 1953, p. 195, pl. 4 (erroneously dated 490).
Nobuo Kumagaya, ‘The Gilt Bronze Padmapani dated 484’, Bijutsu Kenkyu, no. 208, January 1960, pl. V.
Saburo Matsubara, Chugoku Bukkyo Chokoku-shi Kenkyu., Tokyo, 1966, 1st ed., as no. 6 in his discussion on the Taihe era examples, pl. 41a, figs. 10, 22, pp. 5, 225, and 2nd ed., pl. 38a & b, p. 8, fig. 9.
Mayuyama, Seventy Years, Volume Two, Tokyo, 1976, pl. 107.

There small chips and dents to the edges, and a restored chip to the pedestal. There is loss and possible touch-up to the gilding overall.
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 present, finely modeled gilt-bronze figure of bodhisattva Padmapani is known as the” lotus bearer” –a manifestation of Avalokitesvara, or Guanshiyin in Chinese, was especially popular in early Chinese Buddhism. This much revered Deity of Compassion and Mercy was an emanation of the oldest of the five cosmic Buddhas, Amithaba, and was believed to have created all things animate as well as being the personification of the all-pitying one and the power of creation, represented by the padma or lotus flower held in his hand. As seen here, Padmapani is generally portrayed in a majestic standing posture, holding his symbol, the lotus flower, in his right hand over his shoulder, signifying purity and spiritual elevation. He is dressed like an Indian prince, with the elegant folds of his dhoti hanging down over his knees.

The figure displays characteristics closely associated with the second half of the fifth century, that may be traced back to Gandharan models, as explained by Hugo Munsterberg in ‘A Group of Chinese Buddhist Bronzes From the D’Ajeta Collection’, Artibus Asiae, op.cit., p. 193. Munsterberg notes that the Northern Wei artists were inspired by Western, Indian and Central Asian prototypes, both as regards style and iconography even though they modified these to suit their own artistic traditions and religious conceptions.  While the Indian Padmapani is nearly always depicted with a lithe body, swaying hips and the head gently tilted to the side, the overall style resulting in a graceful curvilinear form, the Chinese artist has created an object of worship that is quite different. This Padmapani displays strength, with its straight stiff body, which is further enhanced by the fierce fire design found on the mandorla. Another aspect worth noting is the compact size of this piece, suggesting that it was made for ease of transportation.  Early portable objects of worship were made in great numbers and became important in spreading Buddhism in China.

The style of this gilt-bronze figure is very close to a similar gilt-bronze figure from the Avery Brundage Collection and now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, illustrated in Rene-Yvon Lefebvre d’Argence (ed.), Chinese, Korean and Japanese Sculpture in the Avery Brundage Collection, Tokyo, 1974, pl. 20, with an almost identical inscription. The only difference being that the abbreviation mark on the back of the present lot, is missing on the Brundage piece.  The two pieces are so similar that the author of the Avery Brundage collection catalogue, ibid., p. 58,  erroneously listed the publication details of the present lot rather than the one in the museum’s collection.

A number of other related dated examples are known in museums and private collections. For example, see one dated to 485 in the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, illustrated in Mayuyama, Seventy Years, op.cit., pl. 112, together with a slightly later example, dated to 543 of the Eastern Wei period, in the Tokyo National Museum, Tokyo, pl. 117. Another gilt-bronze figure of Padmapani is included in Saburo Matsubara, Chugoku bukkyo chokoku shiron, vol. 1, Tokyo, 1995, p. 108a, dated to 464; one, a gift from P.T. Brooke Sewell to the British Museum, London, is published in W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism – Art and Faith, London, 1985, p. 199, pl. 294, dated to 471; and an example in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, is illustrated in Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, Taipei, 1996, pl. 4, dated to 498.

Compare also a figure dated to 504 sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 29th-30th October 2001, lot 503; another dated to 516, from the collections of Philippe and Adolphe Stoclet, sold in these rooms, 11th May 1965, lot 121; and a further example, dated to 523, offered in our London rooms, 14th November 2001, lot 28.