A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MAITREYACENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 1430-1450
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16713
20.5 cm (8 in.) high注脚Produced in the 15th century during a period of refinement in Tibetan art history, this gilt bronze sculpture of Maitreya bears the hallmarks of the work and quality produced by Sonam Gyaltsen, a recently identified master sculptor (cf. Watt in Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033). Sonam Gyaltsen was patronized, c.1430, by the Sakya order of Tibetan Buddhism and the Rinpungpa dynasty centered in Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city.

Many stylistic details of this elegant work compare with the sculpture of One-Thousand-Armed Avalokiteshvara that bears a dedicatory inscription with Sonam Gyaltsen's name (ibid). For example, this Maitreya has a quiet, benevolent face and a lithe physique. His delicate beaded girdle with inset turquoise pendants is stylistically identical. And, the fine patterns within his garments are produced with the same exact technique of engraving.

Also compare this sculpture's treatment of the hair, regalia, and lotus base to a gilt bronze Amitayus attributed to Sonam Gylatsen, whose work represents the pinnacle of quality in gilded Tibetan Buddhist sculpture (Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 44).

Provenance
Private French Collection, acquired in Singapore, 1980/81


銅鎏金彌勒菩薩像
藏中，約1430-1450年
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網16713號
高20.5釐米（8英吋）

220,000-280,000港幣

這尊工藝上乘的彌勒菩薩像創作於西藏藝術趨於精緻化的十五世紀，並且帶有索南堅贊造像的風格特徵與華美品質。索南堅贊為學術界近期發現的藝術大師（見傑夫·瓦特為邦瀚斯紐約2018年3月19日拍賣之拍品3033號所作撰文)，其於1430年左右為藏傳佛教薩迦派以及中心位於西藏第二大城日喀則的仁蚌巴政權製造銅像。

本尊優雅造像的諸多細節皆可與一尊刻有索南堅贊款之千手觀音相較（同上），例如其沈靜慈悲之面容，柔美之身形，以及嵌有綠松石掛墜的串珠衣裙等。此外，菩薩衣物上的花紋亦以相同技法雕刻而成。

本拍品之髮式、寶冠以及蓮花座皆可與一尊索南堅贊作銅鎏金無量壽佛像（邦瀚斯，香港，2018年10月2日，拍品44）相比較。索南堅贊之作品無疑代表了鎏金藏傳佛教造像的工藝巔峰。

來源
法國私人珍藏，購於新加坡，1980或1981年