AN IMPERIAL GILT COPPER BUDDHA, QIANLONG MARK AND PERIOD
China, incised seven-character mark Da Qing Qianlong nian jingzao and of the period, 1736-1795. Seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base and inscribed in Manchu, Tibetan, Chinese and Mongolian, identifying the figure as Tejorajaya Buddha, specially commissioned by the Imperial Court during the reign of the Qianlong emperor.

Provenance: The Gerry and Pamela Virtue collection, Australia, acquired during the 1960s. Author Gerry Virtue (Kathmandu, the Novel) visited Nepal as early as 1959, engaging in hiking and exploration as well as flying with a hot air balloon over the Everest. His travels are recorded in his published memoir ‘Blazing the Hippie Trail in 1959: Calcutta to London on 10 Pounds’.
Condition: Excellent condition with some wear and traces of use.

Weight: 2.9 kilograms
Dimensions: Height 30.5 cm

Buddha wears layered monk’s robes gathered in cascading folds, his rounded face shows a serene expression flanked by long pendulous ears, beneath a domed ushnisha, the sealed base engraved with a double vajra. His proper right hand shows the bhumisparsa mudra, calling mother earth a witness to his enlightenment, while his left rests in his lap.

Note the unctuous fire-gilding, the superb incision work and the finely applied blue, red and white pigments.

Inside the statue remains an original paper scroll from the period, inscribed with a Tibetan Zung Mantra for good luck (Trendrel Nyingpo Mantra). The writing on the scroll is faded to almost illegibility but was made visible with infrared rays by Professor Schreiner from the University of Vienna and his team.

Fitted box with collector’s inscription ‘Qianlong Buddha’. (3)

Auction result comparison: Compare with an almost identical statue from the same group at Sotheby’s London on November 7th, 2012, in Fine Chinese Ceramics & Works of Art, lot 360.

乾隆款與年代銅鎏金佛陀坐像
中國, 《大清乾隆年敬造》，乾隆年代（1736-1795），佛陀結跏趺坐于雙層蓮座上，滿漢蒙藏四語銘文，文字應爲無量壽净土陀羅土陀羅尼，乾隆統治期間由皇室特別委托。

來源：澳大利亞 Gerry 及 Pamela Virtue 收藏，購於 1960s年間。Author Gerry Virtue 曾於1959年去過尼泊爾, 從事徒步旅行和探險以及乘坐熱氣球飛越珠穆拉瑪峰，他的旅行記錄在他出版的 《Blazing the Hippie Trail in 1959: Calcutta to London on 10 Pounds》可見
品相：極好品相與一些磨損及使用痕跡.

重量：2.9 公斤
尺寸：高30.5 厘米