Lot 304. A gilt-bronze figure of Ksitigarbha, Ming dynasty, 15th-167th century. Height 6 3/4  in., 17 cm. Estimate USD 50,000 — 70,000. Lot sold 68,750 USD. Courtesy Sotheby's.

the seated bodhisattva finely cast in vajraparyankasana with the lowered proper left hand cradling a cinatamani pearl, the opposite hand in vitarka mudra, an elaborate diadem encircling a coiled topknot and crowning the broad, rounded face with gently arched brows framing a serene, downcast gaze, the princely figure adorned in heavy earrings, a tiered necklace, and highly wrought girdle, relief-cast borders of lotus and stippled ground decorating the billowing sash and dhoti, the latter arrayed in neat folds about the legs, all raised on a double-lotus base flanked by pendent sashes, sealed with a copper plate inscribed with a vishvavajra.

Provenance: The Chang Foundation Collection.

Literature: Jintongfo zaoxiang tulu/Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal, Taipei, 1993, pl. 66.

Note: The present figure, beautifully detailed, features many attributes commonly seen in 15th century gilt-bronze Buddhist figures. The modeling of the face, crown, and jewelry bear similarities with other period examples, however the torso is more solidly cast, with a slightly more truncated mid-section than seen with Yongle and Xuande examples, a feature more associated with later figures. Compare a figure of Simhanada Lokeshvara, attributed to the mid-15th century, illustrated in Robert R. Bigler and Béla Kelényi, Art and Faith at the Crossroads: Tibeto-Chinese Buddhist Images and Ritual Implements from the 12th to the 15th Century, Zurich, 2013, cat. no. 37. Compare also a related figure of Avalokiteshvara, of larger size, sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 15th November 1989, lot 588, attributed to the Ming period. Lot 590 of the same sale is a Yongle mark and period gilt-bronze Maitreya figure, and the elongation and sway of the torso in this earlier figure, compared to that of the present, is also evident.