A gilt bronze standing figure of Shakyamuni, 18th-19th century. Estimate £15,000 - £25,000 ($22,770 - $37,950). Price Realized £25,000 ($37,950). Photo Christie's Image Ltd 2015

Shakyamuni is modelled standing in samapada on a lotus base, with his hands in abhaya and varadamudra, wearing an elaborate sanghati with raised pleats falling in concentric folds, the hemlines delicately incised with foliate borders. His face is in a serene expression with arched brows, flanked by pendulous earlobes. His intricately incised hair is surmounted by a high domed ushnisha with gold disks. 13 ½ in. (34.3 cm.) high

Provenance: Private Irish Collection, acquired in the latter half of the 19th century and then by descent.

Notes: The detailed modelling of the drapery with concentric cascading folds seen on the current figure follows a style termedUdayana, corresponding to the kingdom of Udayana, now modern-day Swat Valley, Pakistan. From this region similarly robed images of Maitreya, the bodhisattva who would become the Buddha of the Future Age, were transmitted along the early Silk Road to China. These figures, with hands in abhaya and varadamudra, embodied a message of the coming salvation of all sentient beings.

See a slightly smaller 18th century standing figure of Buddha with comparable intricate modelling of the robes and also with hands in abhaya and varadamudra, which sold at Christie's New York, 13 September 2011, lot 374.

A gilt copper alloy example, dating to the Qianlong period (1736-1795) was included in the Sotheby's New York selling exhibition, Footsteps of the Buddha: Masterworks from Across the Buddhist World, 3-23 September 2013, no. 28. 

Christie's. CHINESE CERAMICS, WORKS OF ART AND TEXTILES, 13 November 2015, London, South Kensington