A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA, NEPAL, 9TH/10TH CENTURY

PROPERTY OF AN IMPORTANT AMERICAN COLLECTION

A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA

NEPAL, 9TH/10TH CENTURY

Height 10 ½ in. (26.7 cm)

the bodhisattva of compassion seated on a wide lotus petal throne, the top incised with the motif of lotus pods, luxuriously positioned in sattvaparyankasana, wearing a shawl drawn across the body and falling in pleats over the left shoulder, the dhoti held in place by an ornamented waist band wrapping around the legs in a chased striated pattern, with gem set armbands set high on the shoulders, a necklace with attached pendants, and lotus-form earrings resting on the shoulders, the left hand supporting his weight from behind and holding the stalk of a lotus that follows the curve of the arm with a lotus blossoming over the left shoulder, the head encircled in an aureole decorated in swirling flames

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13744.