A large gilt-bronze standing figure of Maitreya, Qing dynasty, 18th century | 清十八世紀 鎏金銅彌勒佛立像

Maitreya is believed to reside in Tushita Heaven awaiting rebirth on earth as the future Buddha, like Shakyamuni before him. The bodhisattva is identified by his principal attributes of the stupa and water bottle placed respectively in the hair behind the crown and on the flower at his shoulder, as well as the Wheel of the Law on the flower at the left. The body of the deity is painted in matt gold contrasting with the burnished fire-gilding of the robe, crown, jewellery, scarf, flowers, and lotus pedestal, in an elegant stylistic feature of Qing period Buddhist sculpture. The face and hair are further enhanced with an added depth of gold and pigments in the Tibetan manner. Compare a Qianlong period parcel-gilt Tara in the Qing Court Collection with contrasting matt and burnished gold, see Ben She Yi Ming, Buddhist Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 258, cat. no. 247, and compare iconographic elements, sculptural detail and style of a large Qing dynasty gilt bronze standing Maitreya in Christopher Bruckner, Chinese Imperial Patronage: Treasures from Temples and Palaces, Asian Art Gallery exh. cat., Vol. I, pp. 46-47, cat. no. 12.