Important Chinese Art

Important Chinese Art

View full screen - View 1 of Lot 121. A gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Ming dynasty, 16th / 17th century | 明十六 / 十七世紀 鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像.

A gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Ming dynasty, 16th / 17th century | 明十六 / 十七世紀 鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像

Auction Closed

November 1, 04:48 PM GMT

Estimate

25,000 - 35,000 GBP

Lot Details

Description

A gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara

Ming dynasty, 16th / 17th century

明十六 / 十七世紀 鎏金銅觀音菩薩坐像


Overall height 31.8 cm, 12 1/2 in.

Sotheby's London, 7th November 2012, lot 351 (part lot).


倫敦蘇富比2012年11月7日,編號351(其一)

Holding an ambrosia bottle in his hand, this beautifully cast figure depicts Avalokiteshvara, one of the most beloved bodhisattvas in China. The vessel symbolically filled with an elixir which is believed to cleanse negative karma and heal the unwell, making this representation particularly popular among devotees wishing for good health. The National Palace Museum, Taipei has a closely related figure, bearing a smaller vessel, that was included in the Museum’s exhibition The Casting of Religion: A Special Exhibition of Mr. Peng Kai-Dong's Donation, Taipei, 2004. This manifestation of the Bodhisattva can be traced at least to the Sui dynasty (581-618). Compare also another similarly rendered figure seated on an elevated lotus base, but of much larger size, measuring 62.4 cm in height, in the Chang Foundation, Taipei, and illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, pl. 37.
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