A RARE PALA-STYLE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS

Estimated Value:

2.000 € - 3.000 €

Result:

10.360 € incl. Premium and VAT

Description:

China, Qianlong period
H. 20 cm
Cast seated in vajraparyankasana on a rectangular plinth, the hands held in dhyana mudra and bearing a bumpa issuing peacock plumes, wearing ornate jewelry, the contemplative face and upswept hair with traces of pigment, a sash tied over the proper left shoulder and secured about the waist, all framed by a separately cast flaming pierced mandorla.
Max Müller (1867-1960), German Consul in Hankow, collected in China between 1905 and 1912, by descent to his daughter Irmgard Müller-Doertenbach (1909-2011) sold Nagel, 17.10.1992, lot 1271
Amitayus was among the most popular deities from the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon in the Qing dynasty, particularly in the Qianlong period. Emblematic of longevity, large numbers of figures were commissioned in gilt-bronze and porcelain by the Qianlong Emperor for the occasion of the Empress Dowager hongqing's 60th and 70th birthdays, The present lot is inspired by these figures but is a quite rare model of the Qianlong period. A similar bronze of Amitayus is preserved in the collection of Xia Jingchun, published in ‚Buddhist Statues Collected by Xia Jingchun‘, Beijing 2004, no. 92, p. 99. See also the similar bronze figure sold Christie’s New York, 13.5.2008, lot 150 - Very minor wear to gilding

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