Maastricht, 4 January 2013
A spectacular Tibetan bronze, recently lent for the exhibition about the art of bronze at the Royal Academy of Arts in London will be exhibited by Rossi & Rossi at the forthcoming TEFAF Maastricht, from 15 to 24 March 2013.
This bronze is an eleven-headed representation of bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, dated from 1400 AD. This exceptional sculpture remained in the same private collection for over forty years. It is the largest sculpture of the divinity to be known for the ancient period of the art of Tibetan bronze. This polychrome statue is inlaid with silver, copper and semiprecious stones.
The cosmical form of Avalokiteshvara, with eleven heads and multiple stretched arms, is emblematic of Tibetan art, though its iconographic origins are in India. In the Buddhist culture, the Dalai Lama is a reincarnation of this bodhisattva. The sculpture is estimated around £6m.
Rossi & Rossi specialises in classical art from India and the Himalaya, and particularly Tibetan artworks. The gallery was established in 1985 by Anna Maria Rossi, a renowned specialist of Asian art for 40 years.