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19. MAGNIFICENT LARGE GILT-LACQUERED BRONZE AKSHOBHYA BUDDHA…
See original version (French)
19
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19. MAGNIFICENT LARGE GILT-LACQUERED BRONZE AKSHOBHYA BUDDHA…
See original version (French)
Estimate €30,000 - €50,000
Voluntary lot
Description
19. MAGNIFICENT LARGE GILT-LACQUERED BRONZE AKSHOBHYA BUDDHA STATUETTE
Ming dynasty, dated to the 3rd year of Jiajing (1525)
A RARE LARGE LACQUER-GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF AKSHOBHYA BUDDHA
Ming Dynasty, dated 3rd year of Jiajing (1525)
Seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base, his hands held in bhumisparsha mudra, dressed in ornate patchwork robes, each patch intricately cast with a raised design of lotus flowers, adorned with elaborate jewelry and a foliate tiara, the face with a gentle smile and downcast eyes, the hair in tight curls over the ushnisha, the back of the base inscribed and dated.
The buddha 40 cm (15 3/4 in.) high, overall 51.5 cm (20 1/4 in.) high overall (2).
Provenance:
A French private collection.
The result of CIRAM thermoluminescence test no.0326-OA-0484J-1, dated 30th March 2026, is consistent with the dating of this lot.
明嘉靖三年（1525年） 漆金銅阿閦佛像
來源
法國私人收藏
本拍品經CIRAM實驗室熱釋光檢測，編號0326-OA-0484J-1（2026年3月30日），結果與其斷代相符
This impressive figure of Akshobhya is adorned with a crown, jewelry and heavenly garments. The distinctive robe worn by this figure of Akshobhya is made up of patches, alternating horizontal and vertical strips or patches, which are cast in a sharp relief and decorated with flower motifs, filling the flat open areas of the upper and lower garments. Originally patchwork robes were the prescribed garments worn by Buddhist monks and nuns as stipulated in the vinaya literature of India. Made of scrap textiles, they were modest and functional. The robe worn by this buddha is luxurious and a sharp departure from the plain patchwork robes worn by other buddhist figures.
In Tibet, the appearance of monks and buddhas dressed in patchwork robes in Tibetan art can be traced back to the 12th/13th centuries but became the favoured idiom throughout the 15th century. Related Buddha images include a mid-15th-century thangka of Shakyamuni in the collection of the British Museum, illustrated in Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A.F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1996, p. 77, no. 3, and a 15th-century gilt-bronze sold in Sotheby's New York, 30 November 1994, lot 68. In Tibet, however, more precious garments rapidly replaced the humble Indian patchwork robe. By the 15th century, the patchwork robe had been transformed into the finest conceivable garment of the period, a transformation that perfectly exemplifies the "refinement and elaboration" of this period.
A result of this climate of great cultural exchange between China and Tibet, lavishly decorated patchwork textiles with floral designs appear by the late Yuan/early Ming dynasty as seen on a patchwork panel with similar patterns held in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (accession no. 1997.380). The foliate scrolls within the present robe's narrower strips also bear a strong resemblance to the decoration on a Yuan dynasty sculpture published by Robert Bigler, Before Yongle, Zurich, 2013, pp. 84-95, nos. 19-21. Compare also with a bronze buddha of smaller size but similarly cast with a distinctive patchwork robe, sold in Christie's New York, 17 and 18 March 2015, lot 2131.
See original version (French)
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