A MAGNIFICENT AND RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA, TANG DYNASTY China, 618-907. Superbly cast seated in dhyanasana with his right hand raised in shuni mudra and the left resting on his knee, his robe falling in crisply incised, draped folds in front. The serene face with heavy-lidded almond-shaped eyes below gently arched eyebrows, a broad nose, and full lips, flanked by long pendulous earlobes. The head surmounted by a domed ushnisha. The figure has two attachment tabs (tang), one projecting from the back of the head, the other located at the upper backside of the interior.

Provenance: United Kingdom trade, by repute from an old private estate.
Condition: Excellent condition, commensurate with age and overall as expected for a gilt bronze from this well-documented group. Old wear, minor casting flaws, few small losses and dents, occasional scratches. Flaking and microscopic warts to gilt in some areas. Some verdigris here and there, ancient corrosion. Old traces of soldering to the tang at the back of the head. The second tang mostly lost. Remnants of old varnish. Despite the wear and corrosion, the gilding still presents quite well overall. The inside of the statue contains deteriorated remnants of fabric, which may at some point have contained an ancient sutra scroll.

Weight: 254.8 g (excl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 12.4 cm (excl. stand)

Gilt-bronzes of the Teaching Buddha, with his right hand raised in variants of vitarka mudra, and the left resting on the knee, became extremely popular from the turn of the eighth century, the delicately draped base demonstrating the classic style of the period.

Literature comparison: See a closely related figure in comparable style in the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom: Special Exhibition Catalogue of the Buddhist Bronzes from the Nitta Group Collection at the National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1987, p. 173, no 76. Two similar gilt-bronze figures in the collection of the Shanghai Museum are illustrated in S. Matsubara, Chugoku bukkyo chokokushi ron (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), vol. 3, Tang, Five Dynasties, Sung and Taoism Sculpture, Tokyo, 1995, pl. 720 A and B. Compare a closely related gilt bronze of Buddha flanked by two bodhisattvas and attendants in the collection of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60B1038. Compare a related but slightly larger gilt bronze figure of Buddha (18 cm high), also with a draped base and dated to the Tang dynasty, at Christie’s New York in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 23 March 2012, lot 1765.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related gilt bronze figure of Buddha (14.6 cm high), also with two attachment tabs, draped base, and dated to the Tang dynasty, at Christie’s Hong Kong in Contemplating The Divine – Fine Buddhist Art on 30 May 2018, lot 2856, sold for HKD 2,375,000. Compare a closely related but smaller gilt bronze figure of Buddha (8 cm high), also with attachment tabs projecting from the back, draped base, and dated to the Tang dynasty, at Christie’s New York in The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part IV on 20 March 2015, lot 759, sold for USD 161,000.

唐代罕見銅鎏金佛陀坐像
中國， 618-907年。佛陀結跏趺坐，右手施耐心之印，左手放在膝蓋上，天衣袒右肩，褶皺清晰流暢。面容安詳，眼睛微微下垂，眉毛微微拱起，寬鼻，豐滿的嘴唇，兩側是長長的耳垂。頭頂上呈螺髻。兩處附接片（柄腳），一個從頭部後部突出，另一個位於內部的上方。

來源：英國拍賣市場，據説購於私人老收藏。
品相：品相極佳，與年齡相稱，整體上符合這一時期鎏金銅造像的預期。舊磨損、輕微鑄造瑕疵、少量小缺損和凹痕、局部劃痕。局部鎏金磨損，到處都是綠色鏽斑。 頭後部的柄腳上有舊的焊接痕跡，內部柄腳有大部分缺損。舊漆的殘留。儘管有磨損和腐蝕，但整體上鎏金仍然良好。雕像的內部有織物殘餘物，可能在之前密封了古老的經卷。

重量: 254.8 克 (不含底座)
尺寸：高 12.4 厘米 (不含底座)

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相似的鎏金銅佛陀 (高14.6 厘米), 同樣有兩個附接片，唐代, 見香港佳士得Contemplating The Divine – Fine Buddhist Art 2018年5月30日 lot 2856, 售價HKD 2,375,000；比較一件相似的但稍小的鎏金銅佛陀 (高8 厘米)，背部同樣有兩個附接片，唐代，見紐約佳士得The Collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth Part IV 2015年3月 20日 lot 759, 售價USD 161,000。