Fire - gilded bronze. Sino – Mongolian, approx. 18th century
A rare and well-worked depiction partly as repousse (the base and seat), cast from the hip upwards. The attributes are missing, therefore the precise nature of the Bodhisattva is subject to speculation. The small Buddha head at the very top could possibly indicate an Ushnishavijaya (a form of the White Tara) or a variation of Avalokiteshvara. The three heads are fine in their details and smiling like the smaller Buddha head. There are flaming marks on their foreheads. On Buddha’s forehead is an urna. All four hands present delicately crafted fingers and show the demon-dispelling gesture (two fingers forming horns, the karana mudra), the mudra of discussion (vitarka mudra), which appears three times, and one hand shows the “generosity gesture” (varada mudra). The upper part of the bronze was cast in several parts – all four arms were cast separately. The condition of the gilding varies, but is very good in the lower parts. The faces were not gilt and there are remnants of paint in the hair.
HEIGHT 21,3 CM
From a Munich private collection. The object was acquired in 1984 from the collection of a Mongolian living in Germany. Aftwerwards collection Sohel Ch., New-Delhi - Vienna
青銅合金三頭菩薩與佛祖頭坐像. 中國-蒙古. 約 18 世紀. 高 21.3 厘米.