STATUETTE DE PADMAPANI LOKESHVARA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉNÉPAL, XIVE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 481533.3 cm (13 1/8 in.) highProvenance: A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF PADMAPANI LOKESHVARANEPAL, 14TH CENTURY尼泊爾 十四世紀 銅鎏金蓮華手觀音像Provenance:With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970sThis Padmapani figure exemplifies a form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara that was popular during the early Malla period (c. 1200-1479). Approachable, regally adorned, of slender proportions, 'The Lord Who Looks Down [withpassion]', offers his right hand in a gesture of charity (varada mudra) while his left once held the lower stem of the lotus that blossoms at his shoulder. As the pure and perfect Bodhisattva of Infinitepassion in Mahayana Buddhism, Avalokiteshvara willingly postpones his own highest enlightenment to save all sentient beings from suffering first.Situated between the great Himalayan range to the north and the vast Indian subcontinent to the south, the Kathmandu Valley gave rise to a unique culture that blended Hindu and Buddhist traditions. Avalokiteshvara garnered particular attention from Buddhists and Hindus alike. Images of the deity began to proliferate, adopting the leitmotif of the standing bodhisattva in a limber pose, with a bare torso, supple waist, and sheer lower garment from the Gupta period (4th-to 6th-centuries), the golden age of Indian. A famed standing Padmapani from Sarnath in the National Museum, New Delhi exemplifies this root (cf.Across the Silk Road, Beijing, 2016, pp.160-1, no.70). The Newars adopted and preserved this tradition, adding exaggerated narrow waists and swollen thighs by the 13th-century, in establishing the early Malla style.A short skirt incised with floral designs is secured around Avalokiteshvara's waist with a gem-inset belt. A sacred thread gently hangs over his left shoulder and across his right hip, drawing the viewer's attention to the sensitive treatment of Avalokiteshvara's tapered waist and powerful legs as he shifts his weight to one side. A slight bend in the left knee relaxes the formal pose. A sash covers the thighs and descends in cascading flutters at the hip and groin. He wears a necklace with inset pendant gems of red, turquoise, green, and purple. An empty channel just above the pendants was once filled with seed pearls, secured in place by fine wires. One still remains. Slightly earlier examples of Avalokiteshvara are in the Cleveland Museum of Art and in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; a much larger and somewhat later example may be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (von Schroeder,Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, figs. 90F,90G &94B, respectively. See also an earlier example in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York [HAR 65430]).This sculpture's richly gilded copper casting, the jewelry, and the figural proportions are hallmarks of Newari style of the Kathmandu Valley. Such aesthetic achievement impelled b