TIBET, DEBUT DU XVIEME SIECLE Il est représenté en vajrasana sur un socle lotiforme inscrit au dos. Ses deux mains tiennent deux tiges de lotus, l'un supportant le kalasha. Son visage est empreint de sérénité. L'urna ornant son front est inscrusté de cuivre. Son chignon est terminé par un stupa ; scellée. Haut: 26 cm. (10 ? in.)
The present bronze figure of the future Buddha and great bodhisattva Maitreya (Tib. byams pa) was most likely part of a larger set of the eight great bodhisattvas which would have graced the shrine of a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the 16th century. This style is a recognizable one that is often attributed to known ateliers in South-central Tibet (Tsang Province), where the easily distinguishable facial features and tightly rendered lotus petals with upturned tips in the form of small, ball-like flourishes became the dominant style.