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Lot Essay
The future buddha is identified here by the waterpot and lotus bud atop the lotus stalks that flank him. While the physiognomy and iconography indicate influence from Indian and Nepalese artworks, the facial features are discernibly Chinese: the delicate nose, fleshy cheeks and fuller lips are common among Ming-period images of the more prominent Mahayana school in China.
During the first quarter of the fifteenth century, Emperor Yongle bestowed enormous Imperial patronage to monasteries and artistic ateliers, fostering the production of artworks depicting Tibetan Buddhist deities in a highly refined and distinct style fusing all these features. Emperor Xuande followed suit, thus establishing a very distinct and sophisticated tradition of Tibeto-Chinese imagery that has come to define the fifteenth century.
The soft folds in the scarf draped over the bodhisattva’s shoulders, the careful casting of the back, and the neat chignon are typical of works produced during the Yongle and Xuande reigns. The wide and rounded lotus petals, as well as the restrained ornamentation, point to the Tibetan influence. The ornamention, proportions, and face of this bronze are remarkably similar to a gilt-bronze image of Bon deity Kunzang Akor, attributed to Yunnan Province in Southwest China, at the Rubin Museum of Art (acc. no. C2006.71.7, Himalayan Art Resource, item no. 65760) which has been dated to both the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries by various scholars. The Rubin example was previously attributed to Xixia—a testament to the diffusion of styles across China and Tibet during this period.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24548.
During the first quarter of the fifteenth century, Emperor Yongle bestowed enormous Imperial patronage to monasteries and artistic ateliers, fostering the production of artworks depicting Tibetan Buddhist deities in a highly refined and distinct style fusing all these features. Emperor Xuande followed suit, thus establishing a very distinct and sophisticated tradition of Tibeto-Chinese imagery that has come to define the fifteenth century.
The soft folds in the scarf draped over the bodhisattva’s shoulders, the careful casting of the back, and the neat chignon are typical of works produced during the Yongle and Xuande reigns. The wide and rounded lotus petals, as well as the restrained ornamentation, point to the Tibetan influence. The ornamention, proportions, and face of this bronze are remarkably similar to a gilt-bronze image of Bon deity Kunzang Akor, attributed to Yunnan Province in Southwest China, at the Rubin Museum of Art (acc. no. C2006.71.7, Himalayan Art Resource, item no. 65760) which has been dated to both the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries by various scholars. The Rubin example was previously attributed to Xixia—a testament to the diffusion of styles across China and Tibet during this period.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24548.