A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF USHNISHAVIJAYA QING DYANSTY, 18TH CENTURYA GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF USHNISHAVIJAYAQING DYANSTY, 18TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4724 13 cm (5 1/8 in.) high清 十八世紀 銅鎏金尊勝佛母像This sweet figure pays tribute to Ushnishavijaya, the goddess of longevity, who is propitiated as one of the three long-life deities with Amitayus and White Tara. She is believed to appear from the light emanated from Buddha's ushnisha. A miniature effigy of Amitabha and a visvavajra are held in her slender arms. Antecedents of Qing Buddhist sculptures lay in Pala designs and are heavily referenced here in the broad foreheads, supple skin, subtly rendered incised eyebrows, high-bridged nose, and crescent shaped eyelids. The wide shoulders and thin waist along with the s-shaped curve of the body recall the sensuousness of the body in Newari works of art. The slender limbs, high chignon, as well as the soft folds of the layered silks, though, speak of a more characteristic Chinese aesthetic. The square petals reveal lotus styles commonly articulated during the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Compare a figure of Vajrasattva published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 548, no. 156A. Also refer to a figure of Amitayus in the Qing Court Collection for the treatment of the jewelry, sash, and skirt with patterned hems (Wang ed., The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Statues of Tibet [Zangchuan Fojiao Zaoxiang], Hong Kong, 2003, p. 238, fig. 227).Provenance:Collection of Mrs Oesh Gonin, Galerie La Vieille Fontaine, Lausanne, acquired in the 1980s-1990s