Indonesia. Seated in lalitasana on a double lotus base with beaded upper edge raised on a tiered rectangular plinth, his extended right leg resting on a lotus blossom, his primary hands holding a trident and water pot, the secondary hands with a mala and a fly whisk, dressed in a long dhoti and sash, richly adorned with fine jewelry. His serene face with heavy-lidded eyes, full lips, the jatamukuta centered by a skull and crescent moon and secured by a foliate tiara, a few locks elegantly falling over his shoulders.

Provenance: Galleria La Balaustra Antichita, Bologna, Italy. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above (invoice not available). Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna, Italy. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than 60 years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom.
Condition: Very good condition, commensurate with age. Wear and casting irregularities. Minor losses, dings, signs of erosion, weathering, and corrosion, encrustations. The bronze covered with a rich, naturally grown black patina. The previous soil encrustations have been professionally removed c. 30 years ago.

Weight: 1,424.3 g
Dimensions: Height 19.7 cm

Literature comparison:
Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Vajrapani, dated to the 9^th century, 11.4 cm high, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1984.486.1. Compare a related bronze figure of a seated Brahma holding a fly whisk and water pot, dated c. late 9^th century, 11.4 cm high, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1987.142.168. For a related larger bronze standing figure of a four-armed Shiva, similarly holding flywhisk and water pot in his left hands, Central Java, c. 9^th century, in the National Museum of Indonesia, Jakarta, see a photograph in the New York Public Library, image ID 1122511.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 September 2007, lot 350
Price: USD 29,800 or approx. EUR 41,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Indonesia, Central Java, 10th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modelling, manner of casting, and decoration with similar tiered plinth, jewelry, and incision work on the dhoti. Note the size (12.7 cm).