A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA SUI DYNASTY - EARLY TANG DYNASTY |

standing in tribhanga atop a separately-cast double-lotus base, the left hand holding a 'pure water bottle' by the hip, the right arm bent at the elbow and holding a willow branch by the shoulder, the slender body elegantly attired in a dhoti and shawl, a long beaded necklace draping across the bare chest suspending a double-pendant and then extending in two cords down the torso and legs, the body further embellished with bracelets, armbands, earrings, and a multi-part diadem surrounding the high chignon, the oval face with downcast eyes and a serene countenance, wood stand (3)

Spink & Son, London, 10th October 1988. 
Collection of Florence (1920-2018) and Herbert (1917-2016) Irving, no. 1970.

The figure with filled restoration to losses on the face- visible at the nose, cheeks and chin. There is wear and erosion along edges and extremities with losses to the top of the hands and the hem of the robe. The surface with wear overall, scattered areas of encrustation and the gilt refreshed in places. The lotus base with a small U-form section out at the rim. There is expected wear overall and minor flaw, dents and losses consistent with age and type. Please note that this lot includes a stand, frame or other component made from a type of Chinese hardwood, which, if exported, will require a CITES permit to leave the United States.
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 iconography of the pure water bottle and the willow branch identify this figure as Willow Guanyin, whose story can be traced to an episode in the Dharani Sutra, which describes the bodhisattva sprinkling water from a willow branch to rid the city of Vaisali of disease and thereby saving the population. A gilt-bronze shrine attributed to the Sui to early Tang dynasty showing the Willow Guanyin flanked by two bodhisattvas is in the collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, and was exhibited in Yuan cang Yazhou fojiao yishu zhi mei/Imprints of Buddhas: Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum Collection, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2015, cat. no. 48. See also a Sui/early Tang dynasty gilt-bronze figure of Willow Guanyin in the Chang Foundation Collection, published in Jintong fo zaoxiang tulu/Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, cat. no. 28; one attributed to the Northern Qi to Sui dynasty in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco published in René-Yvon Lefebvre d'Argencé, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese Sculpture: The Avery Brundage Collection, Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Tokyo and New York, 1974, pl. 67; and an early Tang dynasty example in the same collection published in ibid., pl. 81. A Sui dynasty gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, with very similar modeling to the present example, but holding a jewel rather than a willow branch, is published in Saburō Matsubara, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture: A study based on bronze and stone statues other than works from cave temples, Tokyo, 1966, pl. 223.