Amitayus Copper alloy with silver and copper inlay Tibet

The rare and unusual sculpture depicting Amitayus, with hands in dhyana mudra, fingernails inlaid with copper, and holding a copper inlaid kalasha, the Buddha's eyes inlaid with silver and lips with copper, the Long Life deity adorned with bodhisattva jewelry inlaid with silver beading, a scarf falling from the shoulders and over the lower arm to the lotus pedestal, wearing a finely engraved floral patterned lower garment, and seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus pedestal raised on a stepped platform, the throne separately cast in a darker alloy and engraved with peacocks and Buddhist emblems.

Galerie Koller Zürich, 1986

The sculptural style of this unusual bronze makes reference to a number of earlier influences. The seated figure takes detail from the Chinese bronzes of the Yongle and Xuande period (1403-1435); the crown, earrings, hair tresses on the shoulders, the anklets and the robe falling in loose folds on the legs, are all taken more or less accurately from the handbooks of the imperial ateliers. The throne bears no relationship with the early Ming styles however, and with its stepped central projection is more reminiscent of classic medieval eastern Indian style, as is the silver and copper inlay of the figure. Compare a Tibetan un-gilded copper alloy Amitayus displaying early Ming stylistic characteristics, also with an unusual pedestal, see Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 477, pl. 132G. Amitayus is invoked in ceremonies concerning long life, prosperity and good fortune, his principal attribute being the kalasha, a vessel overflowing with the ambrosia of everlasting life. His compassion is evoked in this rare bronze with an engaging expression enhanced by the realism of the silver eyes and copper lips.