10 7/8 in. (27.5 cm.) high
法國Guy Kaufmann(1923-2010)珍藏
The treatment of robes with concentric folds, as seen on the present lot, is known as 'Udayana' style; it is believed that robed images of Maitreya originated from the kingdom of Udayana which is now known as Swat Valley in Pakistan. These figures, with hands in abhaya and varada mudras, signified the coming salvation of all sentient beings, and were increasingly popular in gilt bronze form in China during the Northern Wei period (386-534) as Buddhism spread to East Asia through the Silk Road. One large Northern Wei example is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, illustrated by D. P. Leidy & D. Strahan, Wisdom Embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist Sculpture in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2010, p. 59. This iconic image of Maitreya continued to be appreciated throughout the dynasties after the Northern Wei period. An example dated to the Yuan Dynasty is in the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, illustrated by R. Jacobsen, The Asian Galleries, Minneapolis, 1982, p. 22. Another example was sold at Sotheby's New York, 21 September 2007, lot 24, then again at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 3135. Also see a large Xuande mark and period gilt-bronze standing Buddha at the Musée Cernuschi, museum no. M.C. 686. It has been suggested by some scholars that figures with a rounded collar as seen on the present lot indicates later production in the Qing period; see Jin, S. ‘Hanzang fojiao zhong de zhangtan ruixiang (Sandalwood auspicious images in Sino-Tibetan Buddhism)’ in Wenwu Chunqio, 2005(4), p. 40.Of Swiss origin, Guy Kaufmann (1923 – 2010) was an avid art collector living in Paris whose area of focus was South East Asian and Himalayan art. He actively collected from the 1970s to 1990s acquiring items from reputable French dealers and was advised by Jean-Michel Beurdeley among others. Parts of his collection were donated to the Musée Guimet; he was awarded the French Legion of Honour for his contributions.