Mongolia, Qing Dynasty, 19th Century Impressive gilded and chased heavy bronze cast, portraying the Buddha Amitabha (Buddha of Infinite Light, in Chinese Wuliang Guang) seated in vajrasana with hands intertwined in dhyanamudra holding the alms bowl Patra full of the Sacred Ambrosia, Amrta, symbol of the deity himself. A
work of considerable size and finely-made, it can certainly be attributed to the large group of devotional bronzes attributable to the Zanabazar workshop and intended for important commissions produced after the master's death. As always in these cases, the cast presents a high degree of finish and the thickness of the walls that are perfectly smoothed, chiselled and gilded. The figure of the deity resting on a lotus flower base has solid proportions and sober decoration that covers, following the usual model of the Zanabazar school, the whole perimeter. The base is sealed with copper plate decorated in the centre with double Vajra highlighted in gold.Provenance: recorded prior to 1930 in the family home in London, passed by inheritance to the present owner. h 26 cm