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Lot Essay
The present figure, Syamatara, ‘the granter of all wishes’, is an interesting example of strong influences of Tibetan Buddhism on Chinese art. This tradition started in the Yuan dynasty (1279-1368) and continued into the Ming and Qing dynasties.
It was during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) that numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples were founded, and often were furnished with works of art often exhibiting both Tibetan and Chinese styles. Kangxi was a devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism, and under his reign vast quantities of Lamaist-influenced sculptures and ritual implements were produced. The crisp modelling of the facial features of the present figure is closely related to a giltbronze seated Amitayus dating to the Kangxi period, formerly from an Austrian private collection and sold at Christie’s Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 412A.
The dating is consistent with The Radiocarbon Analysis Report, University of Toronto, 7 April 1998.
It was during the reign of the Emperor Kangxi (1662-1722) that numerous Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples were founded, and often were furnished with works of art often exhibiting both Tibetan and Chinese styles. Kangxi was a devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism, and under his reign vast quantities of Lamaist-influenced sculptures and ritual implements were produced. The crisp modelling of the facial features of the present figure is closely related to a giltbronze seated Amitayus dating to the Kangxi period, formerly from an Austrian private collection and sold at Christie’s Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 412A.
The dating is consistent with The Radiocarbon Analysis Report, University of Toronto, 7 April 1998.