CHINE XVIIe SIÈCLE Lot n° 64

= Guanyin statue in gilded bronze The bodhisattva is shown seated in padmasana on a double lotiform base, her hands in dhyanamudra and holding a jewel, dressed in a long robe whose flaps fall to the base. She is adorned with numerous jewels, her hair veiled and styled in a high bun where an emblem with three jewels on a lotus nestles. Unsealed base. H. 22.5 cm PROVENANCE Private collection in Paris. NOTE Gilded bronze representations of Avalokiteshvara in his sinicized form (Guanyin) are quite unusual. Here, the deity is depicted with feminine features, the fuller figure draped in a large robe, the bun covered by a veil. This form of representation developed in China in the mid-Ming dynasty and continued into the early Qing dynasty, before gilded bronzes generally adopted a Sino-Tibetan style. Two stylistically very similar statues in the Chang Foundation collection are illustrated in "Buddhist Images in Gilt Metal", Taipei, 1993, pl. 43 and 44. One of them sold by Sotheby's, New York, "Bodies Of Infinite Light Featuring An Important Collection Of Buddhist Figures Formerly In The Collection Of The Chang Foundation" sale, September 10, 2019, lot 314. Another very similar piece, dated 16th century, sold by Sotheby's, Paris, "Asian Art" sale, June 11, 2009, lot 187. CONDITION Unsealed, wear to the gilt