STATUETTE D'AMITAYUS EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉATTRIBUÉ À SONAM GYALTSEN (A. XVE SIÈCLE),SHIGATSE, TIBET CENTRAL, VERS 1430-40Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1679243 cm (17 in.) highProvenance: A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AMITAYUSATTRIBUTED TO SONAM GYALTSEN (A. 15TH CENTURY),SHIGATSE, CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 1430-40日喀則 藏中 約1430-1440年 銅鎏金無量壽佛像 應為索南堅贊之作Provenance:Sotheby's Parke-Bernet, New York, 23 May 1979, lot 85 Navin Kumar, New York A French Private Collection, Paris, acquired from the above on 31 August 1984 Christie's, Paris, 19 December 2012, lot 209 An Important Asian Private CollectionPublished: Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 446, no. 121A.This magnificent gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus bears all the hallmarks of the exceptional master-craftsman of one of the greatest known artists in Tibet, active during the first half of the 15th century, namely, the master craftsman Sonam Gyaltsen. The attribution to Sonam Gyaltsen is demonstrated in the evident similarities to the gilt-copper alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara Sahasrabhuja Ekadasamukha, circa 1430, identified by inscription to have been made by Sonam Gyaltsen, which was sold at , New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033. These close similarities are manifest in theparable facial features, the turquoise-inset jewelry, the incised decoration, and lotus lappets: Gyaltsenpletes his bronze's lotus petals in the round with symmetrically curling plump inner corolla on top of swelled outer petals with pointed tips. Gyaltsen lightly engraves Amitayus' silks with auspicious symbols. He models Amitayus with slender physiognomy. The hair is distinctively arranged into a fringe of rounded curls before the crown. Gyaltsen apportions the jewelry with restraint, such that small turquoise settings brilliantly lead the eye over the body without distracting from its alluring suppleness. Lastly, in the handsome face, Gyaltsen elegantly captures the benevolent and restful essence of Amitayus.As noted in the inscription of the Sonam Gyaltsen Avalokiteshvara, the master craftsman had the patronage of the Rinpung dynasty and more specifically the third monarch, Norbu Zangpo (1403-66) who ruled between 1435 and 1466. The dynasty's seat of power was in Shigatse, Tsang Province in Central Tibet, and its rulers mostly patronized the Sakya order. This figure was created at the culmination of the foundation or enlargement of Jamchen Chode monastery near Shigatse, circa 1430. It is therefore possible that the present figure of Amitayus was also created as part of the project for the Jamchen monastery.While the Avalokiteshvara remains the only known inscribed figure identified by inscription to be by Sonam Gyaltsen, it allows us to attribute other important sculptures in public and private collections to the great master.pare with images of Guhyamanjuvajra and Vajrabhairava in the Rietberg Museum, Zurich (Uhlig, On the Path