Manjughosha (Manjushri), Mongolia, XVII/XVIII w.
ze szkoły Zanabazar
brąz złocony, wys. 18,5 cm
A very rare gilt-bronze figure of Manjugoosha from Mongolia, a Bodhisattva of wisdom, seated in lotus position on a lotus base. Both hands in the vitarkamudra holding stems of lotus flowering along his upper arms, one flower supporting the manuscript. Clad in a dhoti. Scraf bandoleer the chest, another draped over the shoulders, falling on the base. Bejeweled. His face is displaying a serene expression with dawn cast eyes, smiling lips. The blue colored hair coiffed in a chignon and secured by a tiara.
Zanabazar has been called the "Michelangelo of Asia" for bringing to the region a renaissance in matters related to spirituality (including theology), language, art, medicine, and astronomy. He composed sacral music and mastered the sacred arts of bronze casting and painting. He invented the Soyombo alphabet, based on the Ranjana alphabet, which served as the alphabet for Buddhism in Mongolia. Zanabazar personally created thangkas and bronze statues of Buddha. His personal works are mostly kept in museums. He also founded a school of Buddhist art. The talented monks of his school created many figures of Buddha continuing well into the 19th and 20th centuries.