A GILT-BRONZE REPOUSSÉ FIGURE OF VELAMA BUDDHA, QIANLONG INCISED SEVEN-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)

A GILT-BRONZE REPOUSSÉ FIGURE OF VELAMA BUDDHA
QIANLONG INCISED SEVEN-CHARACTER MARK AND OF THE PERIOD (1736-1795)
The deity is shown seated in dhyanasana with his hands in bhumisparsa mudra, the shoulders covered with a shawl and the long robes open at the chest and tied at the midriff. His face has a benevolent expression with downcast eyes, bow-shaped mouth flanked by long pendulous ear lobes, his hair arranged in tight curls rising to a domed usnisha. The lotus plinth is incised to the top with a five-syllable Tibetan inscription rendered in Uchen script reading sa-rva-rtha-da-rshi, 'He Who Sees All Goals'; the front side near the bottom with a Chinese inscription reading Da Qing Qianlong nian jingzao, ‘Respectfully made during the Qianlong reign’, flanked by another Chinese inscription on the right reading Weilan Fo ‘Buddha Weilan’, and a four-syllable Tibetan inscription in Uchen script on the left reading Dus-mkhyen-rgyal-po, '(Three)-Time-Knowing Lord'. The two narrow sides are further inscribed with two sets of Manchu script.
12 in. (30.5 cm.) high, box

Provenance

Sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 15-16 November 1989, lot 586
Property from an important Asian collection
Sold at Sotheby’s New York, 14 September 2011, lot 325

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ASIAN COLLECTION SOLD TO BENEFIT MENTAL HEALTH CHARITIES IN ASIA