Lot 749. A gilt-bronze figure of seated Buddha, Liao dynasty (AD 907-1125); 4 3⁄4 in. (12 cm.) high, cloth box. Estimate USD 40,000 – USD 60,000. Price realised  USD 113,400.© Christie's 2022

The Buddha is shown seated in dhyanasana on an elevated lotus base, with his right hand held in abhayamudra and left hand in varadamudra, wearing a simple loose robe open at the front to reveal his chest.

Provenance: Galaxie Art (B. K. Wong), Hong Kong, 25 November 1990.

Note: Two small Liao dynasty gilt-bronze figures stylistically similar to the present figure are illustrated by M. L. Gridley, Chinese Buddhist Sculpture Under the Liao, New Dehli, India, 1993, p. 95, fig. 136 (bronze Buddha in the Ku-kung Historical Survey, Beijing) and p. 109, fig. 152 (a bodhisattva in the Shanghai Museum). See, also, another similar gilt-bronze figure of Buddha sold at Christie’s New York, 17 September 2008, lot 392.

Christie's. Important Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art, New York, 25 march 2022