A GILT-BRONZE VOTIVE PLAQUE DEPICTING THE MAITREYA, JIN DYNASTY, CHINA, 5TH CENTURY


Scientific Analysis Reports
:

1.A technical examination was conducted by Podany Conservation Services, USA. The examination report concludes: “The characteristics observed by visual examination only of the corrosion patina and the encrustation, as well as the relationship between them and the base metal, as well as the remains of gilding and pigment suggest that the object is ancient.” A copy of the signed examination report, dated 15 May 2021, accompanies this lot.
2.A scientific and technical examination was conducted by John Twilley, art conservation scientist. The report concludes that “The results of these tests show that the disk retains its as-cast microstructure and consists of a simple leaded tin bronze…Considering two likely origins, Korea or China, Buddhist sculptures from Korea have been noted to often be cast from unalloyed copper or leaded copper with minimal tin content, making a Korean origin somewhat less likely for the disk.” A copy of the examination report, dated 29 December 2021, accompanies this lot.
3.An expert report was conducted by Antiques Analytics at the Institute for Scientific Authenticity Testing, Professor Robert Neunteufel. The examination concluded, “The results of the metal analysis are not in contradiction to a manufacture within the 5th” A signed copy of the report, dated 19 May 2023, accompanies this lot.
The circular plaque is molded with a central Buddha Maitreya, seated on a lotus in dhyanasana with his hands raised in the abhayamudra and flanked by a flaming mandorla. The robed buddha is surrounded by a pair of acolytes at his feet, bodhisattva to his left and right, and two apsara flying above him. The surrounding figures are accompanied by two small rosettes and scrolling clouds. The remnants of three iron nail heads remain along the rim of the plaque.


Provenance:
From the private collection of Michael Phillips. Michael Phillips (born 1943) is an Academy Award-winning film producer. Born in Brooklyn, New York, his parents were Lawrence and Shirley Phillips, noted New York dealers in Asian fine arts, 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:
Very good condition, commensurate with age. Expected signs of weathering and erosion, soiling, flaking, dents, losses from corrosion, casting irregularities, remnants of red pigment, and loss to the gilding. The naturally grown patina has vibrant malachite and cuprite encrustations.

Weight: 5,030 g
Dimension: Diameter 41.3 cm


Maitreya
, also known as the Buddha of the Future, may be considered as a Bodhisattva according to the sutras, or a Buddha according to the tantras. In Tibet, when represented as a Bodhisattva, he may be depicted standing or seated in European style with the feet resting on a small lotus throne, as in the present lot. The princely seated appearance of the figure, as in the present lot, is one of the most popular manifestations of Maitreya.


Merchants trading in Silk Road goods
, South and Central Asian Buddhist proselytizers, and pilgrims who had traveled to India to study Buddhism at its source brought countless paintings, scriptures, and small bronze sculptures and plaques to China and Tibet. These later served as the inspirations for works commissioned by local patrons. Few early Chinese and Tibetan bronze plaques survive, as later generations melted them down to make coins, weapons, or new icons.


Literature comparison:

Compare a closely related plaque depicting Maitreya surrounded by acolytes, bodhisattva, and apsaras, 17.2 cm high, dated to 460 AD through an inscription left by the devotee Faliang, in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, accession number B60B643. Compare a later related plaque depicting Maitreya similarly surrounded by acolytes, bodhisattva, and apsaras, 15.2 cm high, dated to the Sui dynasty (518-618), in the Harvard Art Museums, accession number 1943.53.74.

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




晉代銅鎏金彌勒佛鎏金銅許願牌


圓形許願牌中央彌勒佛結跏趺坐坐在蓮座上，雙手施無畏印，後有火焰光背。其身邊兩側各有菩薩，腳下有一對弟子，頭頂有兩位飛天。周圍祥雲環繞。圓牌邊緣還殘留著三個鐵釘頭。


科學檢測報告：

1: 美國Podany Conservation Services 進行了技術檢查。檢驗報告的結論是：“僅通過目視檢查觀察到的腐蝕銅鏽和結殼的特徵，以及它們與金屬之間的關係，以及鍍金和顏料的殘留物表明該物體是古老的。” 該拍品隨附簽署日期為 2021年 5 月 15 日的檢驗報告副本。
2: 藝術保護科學家John Twilley進行了科學和技術檢查。 該報告的結論是：“這些測試的結果表明，該圓盤保留了其鑄態微觀結構，並由簡單的含鉛錫青銅組成……考慮到韓國或中國這兩個可能的起源，來自韓國的佛教雕塑被發現通常是用以下材料鑄造的：錫含量極低的非合金銅或含鉛銅，使得該圓盤產自韓國的可能性較小。” 該批次隨附一份日期為 2021年 12 月 29 日的檢驗報告副本。


來源：
Michael Phillips 私人收藏。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：
狀況非常好，有風化和侵蝕跡象、污垢、剝落、凹痕、腐蝕損失、鑄造不規則、紅色顏料殘留和鍍金磨損。自然包漿和紅綠色結殼。

重量：5,030 克
尺寸: 直徑 41.3 厘米


文獻比較：

比較一件非常相近的460 年彌勒佛牌，周圍有弟子、菩薩和飛天，高 17.2 厘米，由信徒法良留下的銘文，收藏於舊金山亞州藝術博物館，館藏編號B60B643。比較一件later 相近的隋末 彌勒佛牌，周圍有弟子、菩薩和飛天，15.2 厘米高，收藏於哈佛藝術博物館，館藏編號1943.53.74。