A rare bronze plaque depicting Kannon seated

Description:

Japan, late Edo/Meiji period
H. 30 cm
Bronze, with a dark brown patina, cast in relief. A beautifully crafted, irregularly contoured plaque with a hanging loop. It depicts a Bodhisattva figure (Kannon) in a relaxed sitting posture (rajalilasana) with one leg bent, the right arm resting casually on the knee. The figure wears a richly adorned crown, an oval nimbus, and has closed, meditatively downcast eyes and an urn. The upper body is adorned with a multi-strand pearl necklace with pendants; in her raised left hand she holds a lotus bud. The body is enveloped in a richly draped robe falling in deep folds, the ends tapering gently. The reverse side is unfinished.
Old German private collection - Old (original?) repair on the back; not visible on the front