A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA, LIAO DYNASTY, CHINA, 907-1125

Two Scientific Analysis Reports:
A technical examination was conducted by Podany Conservation Services, LLC, Los Angeles. The report concludes: “The bronze casting (Figure 1) exhibits no clear evidence of modern origin/manufacture.” A copy of the signed examination report, dated 4 March 2021, accompanies this lot. A metal alloy analysis was conducted by Antiques Analytics, Institute for Scientific Authenticity Testing, Dr. Robert Neunteufel, Germany. The report concludes: “The results of the metal analysis are not in contradiction to a manufacture within the Liao Dynasty.” A copy of the signed examination report, dated 19 May 2023, accompanies this lot.

Superbly cast, seated on a lotus pedestal atop a stepped lobed base, the right hand held in vitarka mudra and the left in avakasha mudra, the bodhisattva clad in cascading loose robes falling in voluminous folds. The serene face with heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes and lips rendered in a gentle smile, flanked by a pair of pendulous earlobes, all below an elaborate headdress with an incised miniature Amitabha enclosing a high chignon with tresses falling on the shoulders.


Provenance
: From the collection of Michael Phillips (*1943), the Academy Award-winning film producer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, his parents were Lawrence and Shirley Phillips, noted New York dealers in Asian fine art, selling to the Met, the LACMA, the Chicago Art Institute, and the British Museum among others. Michael Phillips is a collector of Asian art himself, particularly Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan sculpture. His most important films include The Sting (winning the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1973), Taxi Driver (winning the Palme d’Or at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival), and Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

Condition
: Good condition with expected wear to gilt and some casting irregularities as expected. Small dents and losses, shallow surface scratches, a very minor old repair to the back. Naturally grown patina overall, with some distinct and solid malachite encrustations. To the base, a small hole drilled for metal sampling.

Weight: 744.1 g
Dimensions: 18.4 cm


Avalokiteshvara
is the successor of Buddha Amitabha and will continue to deliver living beings from sufferings when Amitabha attains nirvana. The crown with the miniature Amitabha, like the one shown here, is a key feature of Avalokiteshvara iconography.


This free-seated image is an example of classic Liao style,
and the modeling of the body is voluminous. The figure has an oval face, refined features, and a solemn expression. The hair, crown, and jewelry are rich with minute detailing. Sumptuous attire and a lotus throne with thick petals are often seen in Liao dynasty statutes. The torso is elongated, and the meandering design of the drapery forms linear patterns.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related smaller figure of Avalokiteshvara in the Museum of East Asian Art, Bath, dated to the Liao dynasty, accession no. BATEA: 277. Also compare a closely related Liao dynasty Avalokiteshvara illustrated in ‘Imprints of Buddha: Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum Collection’, in the National Palace Museum Taipei, pp. 148-149, no. 62. Compare a related gilt-bronze figure of Liao dynasty Avalokiteshvara seated on a lotus pedestal, in the Palace Museum, Beijing, published in Classics of the Forbidden City: Guanyin in the Collection of The Palace Museum, Beijing, 2012, pl. 26. Also compare related Avalokiteshvara in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, published in Hai-Wai Yi-Chen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collections, Buddhist Sculpture I, Taipei, 1998, pl. 146.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 1 April 2019, lot 3104
Estimate: HKD 300,000 or approx.
EUR 37,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare gilt-bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara Liao Dynasty
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form. Note the similar size (19 cm). Also note the almost complete loss of gilt.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 17 September 2008, lot 392
Estimate: USD 74,500 or approx.
EUR 97,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Rare Small Gilt-Bronze Figure of Buddha, Liao Dynasty (907-1125)
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form, casting, incision work, and the naturally grown patina overall. Note the smaller size (14 cm). Also note that the gilt is worn off, most similarly as on the present lot.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's New York, 18 March 2016, lot 1408
Estimate: USD 81,250 or approx.
EUR 86,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Small Gilt-Bronze Figure of Buddha Vairochana, Liao Dynasty (AD 907-1125)
Expert remark: Compare the closely related form. Note the much smaller size (9 cm).

13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer’s premium – only for buyers within the EU.




遼代銅鎏金觀音坐蓮像


觀音銅鑄鎏金，觀音面相長圓，慈眉善目，雙眉舒展，額間白毫，目光微垂，鼻樑尖挺，唇角含笑。髮梳高髻，頭戴冠，冠中化佛。大耳垂肩，耳綴花璫。身著袈裟，衣緣垂至腹前，腰繫結帶。頸配華麗瓔珞，右手上舉施說法印，左手平舉於腹前，結全跏趺端坐於仰蓮座。
兩份科學檢測報告：
洛杉磯 Podany Conservation Services，LLC 進行檢測，報告的結論是：“青銅鑄件（圖 1）沒有顯示出現代起源/製造的明確證據。”拍品隨附一份簽署日期為 2021 年 3 月 4 日的檢驗報告副本。金屬合金分析由德國Institute for Scientific Authenticity Testing研究所Robert Neunteufel 博士進行。報告的結論是：“金屬分析結果與遼代的製造並不矛盾。”隨附一份日期為 2023 年 5 月 19 日的檢驗報告副本。


來源
：
Michael Phillips 收藏。Michael Phillips (出生於1943年) 是一位電影製片人，曾獲得奧斯卡獎。他出生在紐約布魯克林，父母是Lawrence 與Shirley Phillips，他們是著名的紐約亞洲美術經銷商，向大都會博物館、洛杉磯美術館、芝加哥藝術學院和大英博物館等機構出售藝術品。Michael Phillips本人是亞洲藝術收藏家，尤其是印度、東南亞和喜馬拉雅地區造像。他最重要的電影包括《刺激》（1973 年獲得奧斯卡最佳影片獎）、《出租車司機》（1976 年戛納電影節金棕櫚獎）和史蒂文·斯皮爾伯格的《第三類接觸》。

品相
：
狀況良好，鎏金有磨損，有小凹痕和缺損，表面淺劃痕，背面有小修。整體呈自然包漿，帶有一些獨特且堅固的綠色結殼。在底座上鑽了一個小孔，用於取樣。

重量：744.1 克
尺寸：18.4 厘米


觀世音菩薩
是佛教最著名菩薩之一，祂化身無數解苦救難慈悲形象深入人心。


遼代的佛教造像藝術
，造像身軀碩大健美，肩背寬厚，既繼承唐代雍容大方、氣度寬厚的氣質，又融入契丹文化特點和草原民族的磅礡氣勢。本件觀音造像胎體堅實，鎏金厚重，造形端莊優美，誠可謂難得一見雅致精品。


文獻比較：


比較一件非常相近的遼代觀音像，收藏於巴斯東方藝術博物館，館藏編號BATEA: 277。比較一件非常相近的遼代觀音像，見《Imprints of Buddha: Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum Collection》，台北故宮博物館，頁148-149，編號62。比較一件相近的遼代鎏金銅觀音坐連像，收藏於北京故宮博物院，出版於《Classics of the Forbidden City: Guanyin in the Collection of The Palace Museum》，北京，2012年，頁26。比較一件相近的觀音像，收藏於阿姆斯特丹 Rijksmuseum，出版於《Hai-Wai Yi-Chen: Chinese Art in Overseas Collections，Buddhist Sculpture I》，台北，1998年，圖146。


拍賣結果比較：


形制：非常相近
拍賣：香港蘇富比，2019年4月1日，lot 3104
估價：HKD 300,000（相當於今日
EUR 37,500
）
描述：遼鎏金銅觀音坐蓮像
專家評論：比較非常相近外形. 請注意similar 尺寸 (19 釐米). Also 請注意almost complete loss of gilt.


拍賣結果比較：


形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2008年9月17日，lot 392
估價：USD 74,500（相當於今日
EUR 97,000
）
描述：遼代鎏金銅佛陀小像
專家評論：比較非常相近外形、鑄造、雕刻和自然包漿。請注意尺寸較小 (14 釐米)，以及鎏金磨損。


拍賣結果比較：


形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約佳士得，2016年3月18日，lot 1408
估價：USD 81,250（相當於今日
EUR 86,000
）
描述：遼銅鎏金毘盧遮那佛小坐像
專家評論：比較非常相近外形。請注意尺寸較小 (9 釐米)。