A RARE CHINESE GILT BRONZE MODEL OF BUDDHA

LONGQING DATED 1571

Seated in dhyanasana on a tapering lotus base, his right hand raised in vitarkamudra, his left resting on his upturned feet, wearing draped robes embellished with foliate borders and secured with a quatrefoil clasp, his face with a serene expression framed by elongated earlobes, the hair with cold painted enamels, the reverse with an inscription which reads Long Qing wunian sanyue zao ('made in the third month of the fifth year of the Longqing reign', corresponding to 1571), and three partially visible names of donors, 37.5cm.