Ming Seated Buddha In Cast Iron

In an unusually fine state of preservation, this finely detailed sculpture is in the Sino-Tibetan tradition, revealing the Buddha seated in meditation (dhyanasana) on a double-lotus plinth with his hands in the dhyanamudra gesture and holding the image of a crenelated pagoda. In courtly attire, wholly covered in foliate scroll-work and having figures of the Buddha in the pose of teaching on the front as a pectoral and on the back two images of the Buddha with hands in the gesture of peace (ahhayamudra) and at the point of final entry into Nirvana (parinirvana.) Probably a Chinese statue manufactured in Yunnan or Sichuan Province, suggested by the style of the base, the symbolism depicted on the robes seem to indicate the piece was designed for import to the Lamaist Buddhist areas of Western Asia, Mongolia or possibly Tibet. It is highly unusual to find examples as intricately detailed and complete as this one, or ones that have not suffered over-cleaning and/or resurfacing. Chinese, late Sixteenth or early Seventeenth Century, the statue measures approximately 16-3/4 inches high by 11 inches wide by eight inches deep.