RARE STATUE DE MAITREYA EN BRONZE

The present bronze figure of the future Buddha and great bodhisattva Maitreya (Tib. byams pa) was most likely part of a larger set of the eight great bodhisattvas which would have graced the shrine of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the 16th century. This style is a recognizable one that is often attributed to known ateliers in South-central Tibet (Tsang Province), where the easily distinguishable facial features and tightly rendered lotus petals with upturned tips in the form of small, ball-like flourishes became the dominant style.

The inscription at the reverse is dedicated to a figure named Kunga Peljor, possibly the Second Drukchen and thirteenth abbott of Ralung Monastery, Kunga Peljor (1428-1476). At the time of his ascension to the abbacy of Ralung, he was recognized as the reincarnation of Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (1161-1211), the founder of Ralung Monastery and as a member of the Gya clan, Kunga Peljor’s ancestor. The intention was to strengthen the Gya clan’s claim to the abbacy of Ralung, although this was short-lived as the Third Drukchen came from outside the Gya clan altogether.