SINO-TIBÉTAIN DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIe SIÈCLE

= Statue of Ekadashamukha Avalokiteshvara (Eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara) in gilded bronze, standing on a double lotiform base, wearing a fine floating dhoti with chiseled foral motifs, adorned with numerous jewels, with ribbons falling down the sides. The main arms in anjali mudra while the other six arms are arranged in a fan around the torso. The first nine heads of the deity are arranged in groups of three, while the penultimate one represents the face of an irritated deity and the last one that of Amitabha Buddha. The base sealed with an engraved double vajra representation. H. 27 cm PROVENANCE A.D. Collection, Prix de Rome. A similar piece sold by Sotheby's, "Important Chinese Art" sale, October 3, 2017, Hong Kong, lot 3672. NOTE In the Vajrayana esoteric tradition, Ekadashamukha is one of the manifestations of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, the compassionate embodiment of all Buddhas. In this specific iconography, his eleven faces symbolize the ten directions, the four cardinal directions, the inter-cardinal directions as well as the nadir and zenith, allowing him to look in all directions simultaneously with compassion. This form of Avalokiteshvara became very popular from the end of the Ming dynasty and throughout the Qing dynasty. The statue we present is a very fine example of the achievements of the Chinese 18th century, deeply influenced by Tibetan Buddhism, characterized by a quality casting enhanced by an exceptional gilding with mercury amalgam, numerous details reworked with chasing. CONDITION REPORT Wear to the gilt, few oxidations, missing attributes