A BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA DALI KINGDOM, 12TH CENTURY |

crisply cast, the body elegantly elongated in a strong frontal stance with the hands held in front in vitarka and varada mudra, the hair done up in an elaborate jatamukata style centered by a seated Amitabha above a studded diadem, adorned with a torque of beads and scrollwork, tapering ear pendants, foliate armbands, and bracelets, a belt of spaced florettes worn above a thin ribbon-tied dhoti secured by a floral pendant at the waist, a draped sash tied on either hip, the back with an aperture, raised and mounted on a stone plinth

Acquired by the owner's family in the 19th century, and thence by descent.

The figure is in overall good condition with only minor signs of age and wear including a few small pits and flakes to the surface (e.g. at the chest and ankles) and a filled line at the interior side of the proper right foot. The patches on the reverse are original to the manufacture. Please not that the sculpture was not removed from the base for inspection.
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.

Meticulously cast with one hand raised in vitarka mudra, the other in varadra mudra, this figure exudes a sense of nobility through its solemn appearance and columnar stance. The facial features, clothing and hairstyle epitomize the sculptural style of the Dali Kingdom in the 12th and 13th century, which stemmed from influential cross-cultural interactions not only with China and Tibet, but also with Southeast Asian kingdoms. This figure depicts Acuoye Guanyin, a manifestation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara that is unique to Yunnan. The Nanzhao guoshi tuzhuan [Illustrated history of Nanzhao Kingdom] from 947, recounts the story of an Indian monk who in the mid-7th century, prophesized the rise of the Meng family and the establishment of the Nanzhao Kingdom. The monk, himself an incarnation of Avalokiteshvara, bestowed the Meng family with a sculpture of Acuoye Guanyin, which had miraculous rain-making abilities. The legend is depicted in the famous handscroll A Long Scroll of Buddhist Images, painted by Zhang Shengwen (active 12th century) between 1172 and 1190, now in the National Palace Museum, Taipei (acc. no. gu-hua 001003-00000). Symbolic of the monarchy’s sanctioned power, this manifestation of Guanyin was also appropriated by the succeeding Dali monarchy, which thus positioned itself as heir to the Nanzhao court.

The stylistic traits and distinct iconography of the Acuoye Guanyin were established as early as the 9th century, as testified by a gold figure with silver halo recovered from the Qianxun pagoda of the Chongsheng temple in Dali, illustrated in Denise Patry Leidy and Donna Strahan, Wisdom Embodied. Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New Haven, 2010, fig. 99. The figure’s distinctive non-Chinese facial traits, its rigid frontal stance and the arrangement of its skirt tied at the waist, were replicated in sculptures in the successive Dali Kingdom. These features suggest a Southeast Asian influence, possibly from bodhisattva sculptures of Vietnam, as suggested in Angela F. Howard ed., Chinese Sculpture, New Haven, 2006, p. 347.

Figures of Acuoye Guanyin are held in important museums and private collections worldwide; a figure attributed by inscription to the reign of Emperor Duan Zhengxing (r. 1147-1172), in the San Diego Museum of Art, is illustrated in Sung Yu, Selections from the Chinese Collection, San Diego, 1999, p. 115; one in the British Museum, London, is illustrated in Wladimir Zwalf, Buddhism. Art and Faith, London, 1985, pl. 297; another in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco is illustrated in Hai-Wai Yi-Chen/Chinese Art in Overseas Collections. Buddhist Sculpture II, Taipei, 1990, pl. 163, together with a figure in the Denver Art Museum, ibid., pl. 164; a slightly larger one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, is published Leidy, op. cit., pl. 32; and another in the Sumitomo Collection, was included in the Sen-Oku Hakkokan exhibition Kindo Butsu, Kyoto, 2004, cat. no. 40. See also a smaller gilt-bronze figure of Acuoye Guanyin, in the Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming, illustrated in Gems of China’s Cultural Heritage, Beijing, 1990, pl. 160.