Footnotes

The bronze is exceptionally rare for its three metallic surfaces, revealed under the wear from its devotional career: an outer layer of gold, over a layer of silver, over a rich copper base that fluctuates between deep chocolate brown and pinkish flashpoints, where the surface has been most rubbed and reactive to hand oils. It is a triumph of metal finishing in Tibet. As each sculpture produces merit for the patron, the greater the expense of adorning it with precious metals, the greater the yield.

Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari in this form personifies the ubiquitous Tibetan Buddhist mantra 'om mani padme hum', thought to contain the essence of the Bodhisattva, the Lord of Compassion. Here, he is modeled with a sweet face informed by Chinese imperial bronzes of the 15th century. He is peaceful, contemplative, and otherworldly as he looks beyond his primary hands in a gesture of entreaty and salutation. His coppery hair descends in long tresses over a mantle on which rest pendant necklaces in the round. Meanwhile, the treatment of the lotus base informs a date contemporaneous with a gilded portrait of Konchog Pel also in this sale (lot 25).

Provenance
Private US Collection, acquired in New York, 1990s


鎏金鎏銀四臂觀音銅像
西藏，十六世紀早期
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網2448號
高18.4釐米（7 1/4英吋）

350,000-450,000港元

此尊造像極為罕見，磨損較深處可見三層不同金屬材質：外層為金，中層為銀，裡層為銅，體現了西藏金屬工藝的精湛。銅心暴露處顏色變化不一，時而顯出深棕色，時而因長年觸摸呈現粉紅。供養造像是為積功攢德，所用之金屬材料愈貴重，所積攢之功德愈高。

四臂觀音乃六字真言「唵嘛呢叭咪吽」之化現，此心咒在藏傳佛教群體中廣為使用，是大慈大悲觀世音菩薩願力與加持的結晶。此處，菩薩的面龐和藹可親，有十五世紀中原宮廷造像的韻味。雙手合十胸前作禮敬問候狀，雙目低垂俯視前方，深沈寂靜，超脱尘俗。銅色的縷縷長髮垂於雙肩，斗篷之上更有環形項鍊裝飾。蓮花寶座的風格類似於本場中的鎏金昆秋貝爾像（拍品25號），因此兩尊造像應出自同一時期。

來源
美國私人珍藏，於上世紀九十年代購於紐約