STATUE DE MAITREYA EN BRONZE DORE LAQUÉ OR

The current figure belongs to a small known group of Buddhist images of the mid-Ming period that combined both Chinese and Tibetan elements. It is interesting to note the stylistic depiction of the full, rounded face with the unusual hand gesture which appear to be an amalgamation of styles that is unique for Chinese Buddhist image-makers of the Ming period, and it would strongly suggest that this massive figure to be a special commission. The present gilt-bronze figure of Maitreya is remarkable for its large size. It is rare to find examples cast with such highly ornate design of the headdress. The diadem cast in openwork with each leaf formed by a double-arch nimbus and accommodating a seated deity.
A similar large ungilt seated Maitreya Buddha, also wearing a crown, is illustrated in The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom, Special Exhibition Catalog of the Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, p. 214, pl. 117, measuring 75.6 cm. high. Two other comparable examples are known, the first is a gilt-bronze figure of Vairocana in the Royal Ontario Museum (no. 921.31.30), and the other was sold at Christie’s New York, 15 September 2011, lot 1383.