A large bronze head of a Bodhisattva, Song- Yuan Dynasty. Photo: Sotheby's

the round full-face deity with crescent down-cast eyes in serene contemplation, framed by the high arched brows, tapering nose and the pursed full lips, and long pendulous earlobes, the shaved bald head encircled by a simple ruyi-shaped diadem resting around the crown of his head, just above the urna on the forehead with traces of red pigment inside, all resting on a fragment of the shoulders draped with a section of the robe with a finely cast floral hem opened at the chest, the patina of smooth dark greenish-gray tone, stand; 40 cm., 15 3/4 in. Estimation 800,000 — 1,000,000 HKD - Unsold

The crescent-shaped eyes and rounded features are stylistically related to Song dynasty wooden Guanyin sculptures. The simple diadem around the head, as well as the style of the ornamentation on the hem of the robe are also characteristic features of 14th century Buddhist bronzes. A similar crown and pattern of textile can be seen on a gilt-bronze Avalokitesvara seated on a qilin, sold in these rooms, 20th March 2007, lot 740. Another example of a gilt-bronze figure of Manjusri with a ruyi-shaped crown dated to the 13th century Song Dynasty was published in The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom: Special Exhibition Catalogue of Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, p. 199, cat. no. 103.

A wooden example of Guanyin with a similar serene expression and downcast eyes dated to the Song dynasty in the Victoria and Albert Museum is published in Hai-Wai Yi-Chen, Chinese Art in Overseas Collections - Buddhist Sculpture II, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1990, p. 156, cat. no. 150.

Sotheby's. Contemporary Literati — A Gathering, Hong Kong, 07 avr. 2014 - www.sothebys.com