Lot 3280. A finely embroidered silk fragment of Amitayus, Ming dynasty, 16th-17th century; 13 ½ x 9 in. (34.2 x 27.8 cm). Estimate $10,000 – 12,000. Price Realized $10,000. © Christie's Image Ltd 2015

The fragment is finely embroidered in satin stitch with gold-couched outlines with Amitayus seated in dhyanasana on a green base with peach-colored lotus petals and holding the kalasa containing the Elixir of Life. His pale gold-colored body is adorned with yellow scarves encircling his arms and wearing a red and green dhoti, and behind him is a multi-colored aureole from which radiate foliate flames.

Note: An almost identical fragment was sold at Christie's New York, 19 September 2007, lot 153, which was also published in J. E. Vollmer, Silks for Thrones and Altars: Chinese Costumes and Textiles from the Liao Through the Qing dynasty, Myrna Myers, Paris, 2003, p. 122, no. 62.

Also, compare the similar, but slightly larger example on red silk, dated Yuan or early Ming dynasty, in the National Gallery, Prague, depicting a standing Buddha, illustrated by L. Hajek, Chinese Art, London, 1966, p. 228.

Christie's. FINE CHINESE CERAMICS AND WORKS OF ART, 15 - 16 March 2015, New York, Rockefeller Plaza