A LACQUER-GILT WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAI

A LACQUER-GILT WOOD FIGURE OF AMIDA NYORAI
Japan, 18th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Of yosegi (jointed) construction, Amida is seated in dhyanasana on the separately carved lotus pedestal with beaded edge, his left hand raised in semui-in (abhaya mudra), the right hand lowered to his lap, wearing long flowing robes opening at the chest and cascading in voluminous folds. His serene face with heavy-lidded downcast eyes below gently arched eyebrows centered by a glass or rock crystal byakugo (urna), flanked by long pendulous ears, the hair arranged in tight curls surrounding the domed ushnisha.

HEIGHT 22.7 cm (total) and 17.5 cm (just the figure)

Condition: Good condition with old wear, particularly to gold lacquer, small chips and minor losses here and there, some with old repairs, minor touchups, one hand slightly loose.
Provenance: Maison Bing, Paris, 5 October 1908. Old French private collection, acquired from the above and thence by descent. Old label with Japanese inscription to base. The Maison de l'Art Nouveau, known also as Maison Bing for the owner, was a gallery opened on 26 December 1895, by Siegfried Bing at 22 rue de Provence, Paris. Siegfried Bing was a German-French art dealer who lived in Paris as an adult, and who helped introduce Japanese art and artworks to the West and was a major factor in the development of the Art Nouveau style during the late nineteenth century. A copy of the original purchase invoice from October 1908 is accompanying this lot.