Mark Rasmussen
International Director
Lot 605
A BRASS FIGURE OF MAITREYA NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
23 September 2020, 15:00 EDT
New YorkUS$60,000 - US$80,000
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A BRASS FIGURE OF MAITREYA
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, 11TH/12TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16816
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) high
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16816
3 5/8 in. (9.2 cm) high
Footnotes
印度東北部 帕拉時期 十一/十二世紀 彌勒菩薩銅像
The stupa nestled within his headdress and the kundika by his left shoulder identify this figure as the Future Buddha, Maitreya. Maitreya is considered the embodiment of perfected loving kindness. He preaches in his heavenly abode until it is time to usher in the enlightened salvation of all beings. Visually alluding to this, the bronze depicts him seated in a graceful posture of ease (lalitasana) with his hands brought together in a mudra that signifies 'Furthering the Dharma' and prompts lotus flowers to bloom by his shoulders. Rising from murky waters, the lotus is a symbol of every being's ability to achieve nirvana regardless of their past.
Whereas most Pala sculptures typically depict bodhisattvas wearing crowns and jewelry, in their absence here, the artist emphasizes the youthful physique and inherent grace of the deified being. The convention is not without precedent, also seen in a closely related bronze Maitreya currently missing from the Bodh Gaya Museum, published in Roy, Eastern Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1986, no.233a. The two sculptures also share similar chignons, sinuous lotus stalks, and plump lotus bases, while the present lot has a glossy, unexcavated patina that indicates it was carried to Tibet in antiquity.
A third Maitreya of similar style, but with the addition of flowing ribbons by the ears, is preserved in the British Museum (von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.283, no.69D). And for a stylistic comparison of the lotus base, see a Tara in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1987.142.346).
Published
Amy Heller, "Buddhist Art in the Himalayas and Tibet", in Schulenberg et al., Buddha: 108 Encounters, Köln, 2015, p.81, fig.5.
Provenance
Private Swiss Collection since 2009