A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE LARGE IMPERIAL KASHMIR-STYLE PARCEL-GILT LACQUER COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD |

boldly cast in repoussé technique, depicted seated in vajraparyankasana with the hands held in dharmacakra mudra, dressed in loose robes draped over the left shoulder and leaving the right chest bare, the serene face depicted with downcast eyes beneath elongated arched brows and an urna, flanked by a pair of pierced pendulous earlobes, all below tightly knotted hair surmounted by an ushnisha, the revealed skin brilliantly gilt

A French private collection, by repute.

The figure is in overall good condition. There are minor dents and bruises. As visible in the catalogue photo, there is some flaking to the gilt-lacquered surface, especially under the right shoulder and other areas of rubbing to the gilt.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This magnificent and impressively large figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, depicted at the moment of his first sermon after enlightenment, is likely to have been commissioned by the Qianlong Emperor in homage of a treasured 7th-8th century Kashmiri bronze figure housed in the Yonghegong. Boldly created in repoussé technique, the partial gilding of a brilliant tone, with powerfully conceived folds in the robes an exaggeration of the prototype, it is a superb example of Imperial metalwork, and far larger in size than another Qianlong mark and period example still preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing.In the Qianlong era, where there was considerable interchange between high lamas and the Imperial court, a number of rare early sculptures from Tibetan monastic collections was brought to Beijing by high lamas and bestowed on the emperor. Those that he particularly appreciated he ordered the Palace Workshops to make high quality copies. Foremost among these is the famous Kashmir figure in the Yonghegong, illustrated in Buddhist Statues in Yonghegong, Beijing, 2001, pl. 40, which has a Qing gilt-lacquered stand and prabha mandorla, inscribed in Manchu, Mongolian, Chinese and Tibetan, stating that on the 22nd day of the 2nd month of the 10th year of the Qianlong period (1745), the 7th Dalai Lama presented it to the Qianlong Emperor, and on the 20th day of the 10th month it was placed inside the newly renovated Yonghegong Temple, and that later on it was copied at the Palace Workshops. 

A Qianlong period Kashmiri-style bronze figure of Shakyamuni from the Qing court collection, preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing was created in the style of the Yonghegong sculpture and placed on a reign-marked stand. See Classics of the Forbidden City. Tibetan Buddhist Sculptures, Beijing, 2012, no. 63 (fig. 1). A comparison between the two shows just how faithfully the iconography on early figures was copied, differing only in terms of the larger size of the Qianlong example, and the sharper casting and more pointed details on the face and robes.

The current sculpture is very closely related in form, style and iconography, suggesting that it emanates from the same workshop. At 74 cm high, it was created on a much grander scale than the Palace Museum example, which still retaining its original base, is only 69 cm high. It is however nearly identical, strongly pointing to it being an Imperial commission in the same period, which would probably originally have had a stand with similar iconography and Qianlong reign mark to the one still in Beijing.

The iconography relates to Shakyamuni Buddha's first sermon after his enlightenment given at Mrigadava, the deer park at Sarnath, where he set in motion the Wheel of Dharma: the episode is personified in the dharmachakra hand gestures. This iconographic representation, together with the standing Buddha image where the right hand is held in a gesture of reassurance, abhayamudra, are the two most popular forms of Buddha found in early Kashmir art. Works such as this made their way to Tibet upon the demise of Buddhism in Kashmir and were highly prized: the 11th century royal monk Nagaraja had a large collection of Kashmir bronzes as well as locally made western Tibetan works.

Kashmiri sculptures of this type were always thought to date from the 9th century. However, the discovery within the last twenty years of an important inscribed Kashmir bronze in a Tibetan monastery collection has prompted a re-evaluation of Kashmir sculpture that has allowed rare images of this form to be re-dated to the 7th century. The inscribed bronze that revolutionised the dating of Kashmir sculpture is a standing Buddha with similar robe style, physiognomic details and pedestal to the one in Beijing, and datable both by palaeography and reference in the inscription to the founder of the Karkota dynasty Durlabhavardhana (r. ca. 600-636) see Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. 1, pp. 126-29, pls 28A-D.

For other examples of prototypes to the current sculpture, see a 7th–8th century Kashmir figure of Buddha with similar iconography from the Qing court collection, now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City. Tibetan Buddhist Sculptures, op.cit., 2012, no. 53; one in Los Angeles County Museum of Art, originally in the collection of Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck, M.69.13.5, illustrated online; and a third without the elaborate openwork base, formerly in the collection of Professor Samuel Eilenberg and Simon Digby, sold in these rooms, 7th October 2015, lot 3101.