A Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Avalokitesvara, 18th/19...

Hammer

£1,450

A Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Avalokitesvara, 18th/19th century. Standing with eight arms and eleven heads arranged in five tiers, the primary hands in namaskara mudra, standing on an oval lotus base, height 11.5cm, width 6cm, depth 4.5m. The eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara is an esoteric form of the Bodhisattva and became widely employed in tantric visualisations.According to the Karandavyuha Sutra and the Flower Garland Sutra, both compiled between the 5th and the 6th centuries AD, the eleven towering heads crowning the head of the deity represented the ten steps towards enlightenment. The fan of arms holding different attributes signified the measureless means to save all sentient souls from hell; see T.E.Neville, Eleven-Headed Avalokitesvara: Chenresigs, Kuan-Yin or Kannon Bodhisattva; its Origin and Iconography, New Delhi, 1999. Private collection of a Parisian lady (1876-1964), whence by family descent to the present South West Cornwall vendor. Excellent condition but for some rubbing of the gilt in places. Slight movement where figure is attached to base.