Lot 5121. A gilt-lacquered zitan figure of Avalokiteshvara, Tibet, 16th century; 27.7 cm, 10 7/8  in. Estimate 40,000 — 60,000 HKD. Sold for 75,000 HKD (8,874 EUR). Courtesy Sotheby's.

the slender bodhisattva finely carved standing in an elegant posture in tribhanga atop a double-lotus pedestal, the right hand raised in abhaya mudra and the left hand lowered each holding the stem of the lotus blossoming at his shoulder, adorned with long flowing scarves draped over the shoulders and arms, beaded jewellery, a dhoti, and an elaborate headdress, within a mandorla reticulated with scrolling foliage.

Note: This sensitively carved zitan figure of Avalokiteshvara, preserved in unusually good condition with the original gilt and red pigments intact, relates to another larger zitan figure of Avalokiteshvara in the Potala Palace, illustrated in Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, pp. 824-5, pl. 196C.