We have one of the best collections of authentic Buddha figures - enjoy them
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19th. century Tibeto Chinese YabYum Bronze Statue 1.200 $ sold
A very rare yab-yum bronze from the end of the 19th. century ( Qing Dynasty 1644 - 1912 ), acquired for the van Norten collection in the early 30's of the last century in Sichuan showing the male deity in sexual union with his female consort. Yab-yum means Tibetan literally >>father - mother<<.
The statue presents a great amount of detailed wealth. It is a 3,1 kg heavy bronze with a size of 31 cm x 25 x 18.
The symbolism of union and sexual polarity is a central teaching in Tantric Buddhism, especially in Tibet. The union is realised by the practitioner as a mystical experience within one's own body.
The father-mother union image is not an example of erotic art, but is a manifestation of the Buddha's highest spiritual essence. More than metaphorical, to the devout this image is concrete evidence of the existence of great spiritual attainment. The female (mother) represents transcendent wisdom: the direct awareness of reality as the Buddha experienced it and taught it. The male (father), represents compassion for all beings, which is the natural expression of such wisdom. Their union, although exquisitely blissful, is ultimately undertaken out of compassion for the world. This sacred communion of the male and female elements generates waves of bliss and harmony that turn the world into a Mandala (container of essence) and showers forth a rain of nectar that satisfies the spiritual hunger in the hearts of living beings everywhere. Modern depth psychology has recognized such images to represent the deepest archetypes of the unconscious, integrating the powerful instinctual energies of life into a consciously sublimated and exalted state.
Wonderful antique condition with no damages and only little spoils of time and small scratches due the high age of this statue.
Shipping included
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Antique and rare Myoken Bosatsu wooden Buddha Statue
500 $
Here we show you a real rare antique and authentic small wooden hand carved Buddha Statue in form of a Bodhisattva, called Myoken Bosatsu. It was made more than 140 years ago in the late Edo Period. The eyes of the statue are made of crystal and that technique is called gyokugan.
Myōken Bodhisattva, or Myōken Bosatsu in Japanese, (Japanese: 妙見菩薩) is a bodhisattva, who is the deification of the North Star. It is mainly associated with the Nichiren, Shingon and Tendai temples. Those pieces are hard to find.
The condition is good. Age appropriate wear and stains, and tiny repairs have been made near the sword and at the left hand due to the high age of this artwork. It comes with a wooden box.
Size: High 16,3cm (6,4'') - Wide 12,5cm (4,9'') - Diameter 8,9cm (3,5'' )
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Antique Bronze GUAN YIN Buddha
With 24k Gold and firstclass Cloisonné
Museum Quality
4.950 $
Size 35 x 22 x 17 cm (13,78'' x 8,66'' x 6,69'')
Weight 7,4 Kg
This Guan Yin with the hand position "Apan mudra" is made of heavy bronze, finest Cloisonné and finished with 24k gold, melted over some parts of the figure with high temperature inside a kiln.
It was made by a master of craftsmanship as you can see in the pictures. Please go to Ebay (look for "cloisonne buddha) and compare the Guan Yin Statues (of course lousy copys), which are offered there. This is a high class original. The Statue is about 110 years old and was found in Bejing, near the Forbidden City Gugong.
The bottom bears a signature or a seal.
Guanyin is the bodhisattva associated with compassion as venerated by East Asian Buddhists, usually as a female. The name Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means "Observing the Sounds (or Cries) of the World". She is also sometimes referred to as Guanyin Pusa. Some Buddhists believe that when one of their adherents departs from this world, they are placed by Guanyin in the heart of a lotus, and then sent to the western pure land of Sukhāvatī.
It is generally accepted among East Asian adherents that Guanyin originated as the Sanskrit Avalokiteśvara (अवलोकितेश्वर). Commonly known in English as the Mercy Goddess or Goddess of Mercy, Guanyin is also revered by Chinese Taoists (or Daoists) as an Immortal. However, in folk traditions such as Chinese mythology, there are other stories about Guanyin's origins that are outside jatakas of Avalokiteśvara recorded in Buddhist sutras
In Chinese culture, the popular belief and worship of Guanyin as a goddess by the populace is generally not viewed to be in conflict with the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara's nature. In fact the widespread worship of Guanyin as a "Goddess of Mercy and Compassion" is seen as the boundless salvific nature of bodhisattva Avalokitesvara at work (in Buddhism, this is referred to as Guanyin's "skillful means", or upaya). The Buddhist canon states that bodhisattvas can assume whatsoever gender and form is needed to liberate beings from ignorance and dukkha. With specific reference to Avalokitesvara, he is stated both in the Lotus Sutra (Chapter 25 "Perceiver of the World's Sounds" or "Universal Gateway"), and the Surangama Sutra to have appeared before as a woman or a goddess to save beings from suffering and ignorance. Some Buddhist schools refer to Guanyin both as male and female interchangeably.
Cloisonné is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects, in recent centuries using vitreous enamel, and in older periods also inlays of cut gemstones, glass, and other materials. The resulting objects can also be called cloisonné. The decoration is formed by first adding compartments (cloisons in French) to the metal object by soldering or adhering silver or gold wires or thin strips placed on their edges. These remain visible in the finished piece, separating the different compartments of the enamel or inlays, which are often of several colors. Cloisonné enamel objects are worked on with enamel powder made into a paste, which then needs to be fired in a kiln.
The technique was in ancient times mostly used for jewellery and small fittings for clothes, weapons or similar small objects decorated with geometric or schematic designs, with thick cloison walls. In the Byzantine Empire techniques using thinner wires were developed to allow more pictorial images to be produced, mostly used for religious images and jewellery, and by then always using enamel. By the 14th century this enamel technique had spread to China, where it was soon used for much larger vessels such as bowls and vases; the technique remains common in China to the present day, and cloisonné enamel objects using Chinese-derived styles were produced in the West from the 18th century.
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Antique chinese wooden Buddha 1.800 $
It is hard to find real antique wooden Buddha Figures, and we are happy to offer you one rare piece of chinese art.
This large Buddha is approx. 250 years old and is made of one piece of old wood. It came from a well known antique dealer in Bejing, China. The spoils of time, the cracks, the leavings of colour and the signs of age give a valuabel proof of its authenticity.
Size: 65cm x 16cm x 13cm
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Japanese wood carving Buddhist statue eight arms Benzaiten (200 years old)
1.500 $
CONDITION : Good ( little damages due to an age of 200 years )
SIZE : Width 20cm (7.9''), Length 15cm (5,9''), Height 42,42cm (16.7''), Weight 930 g
This is a Buddhist statue of Japanese colored wood carving. It was made about 200 years ago and it is a real authentic original. It is never imitation.
Such very old buddhist statues are very rare and valuable. There are some damages caused by using for 200 years, but they surely force the beauty of this special statue.This is an example of perfect Wabi-Sabi.
Benzaiten (弁才天, 弁財天) is the Japanese name for the Hindu goddess Saraswati. Worship of Benzaiten arrived in Japan during the 6th through 8th centuries, mainly via the Chinese translations of the Sutra of Golden Light, which has a section devoted to her. She is also mentioned in the Lotus Sutra and often depicted holding a biwa, a traditional Japanese lute, in contrast to Saraswati who holds a stringed instrument known as a veena. Benzaiten is a highly syncretic entity with both a Buddhist and a Shinto side.
Transfer from India to Japan
Referred to as Sarasvatî Devî in Sanskrit (meaning "Goddess Saraswati"), Benzaiten is the goddess of everything that flows: water, words, speech, eloquence, music and by extension, knowledge. The original characters used to write her name read "Biancaitian" in Chinese and "Bensaiten" in Japanese (辯才天) and reflect her role as the goddess of eloquence. Because the Sutra of Golden Light promised protection of the state, in Japan she became a protector-deity, at first of the state and then of people. Lastly, she became one of the Seven Gods of Fortune when the Sino-Japanese characters used to write her name changed to 弁財天 (Benzaiten), emphasizing her role in bestowing monetary fortune. Sometimes she is called Benten although this name usually refers to the god Brahma.
In the Rig-Veda (6.61.7) Sarasvati is credited with killing the three-headed Vritra also known as Ahi ("snake"). Vritra is also strongly associated with rivers, as is Sarasvati. This is probably one of the sources of Sarasvati/Benzaiten's close association with snakes and dragons in Japan. She is enshrined on numerous locations throughout Japan; for example, the Enoshima Island in Sagami Bay, the Chikubu Island in Lake Biwa and the Itsukushima Island in Seto Inland Sea (Japan's Three Great Benzaiten Shrines); and she and a five-headed dragon are the central figures of the Enoshima Engi, a history of the shrines on Enoshima written by the Japanese Buddhist monk Kōkei (皇慶) in AD 1047. According to Kōkei, Benzaiten is the third daughter of the dragon-king of Munetsuchi (無熱池; literally "lake without heat"), known in Sanskrit as Anavatapta, the lake lying at the center of the world according to an ancient Buddhist cosmological view.
Benzaiten as a kami
Benzaiten is a female kami to Shinto with the name Ichikishima-hime-no-mikoto (市杵島姫命). Also, she is believed by Tendai Buddhism to be the essence of kami Ugajin, whose effigy she sometimes carries on her head together with a torii .As a consequence, she is sometimes also known as Uga (宇賀) Benzaiten or Uga Benten. Shrine pavilions called either Benten-dō or Benten-sha (弁天社), or even entire Shinto shrines can be dedicated to her, as in the case of Kamakura's Zeniarai Benzaiten Ugafuku Shrine or Nagoya's Kawahara Shrine.
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Antique Bronze Kwan Yin (Guan Yin) Statue Already Sold
Fine Antique Chinese 18th. century Qing-Period Bronze seated GuanYin on Lotus throne with buddhistic characters.
This lovely Guan Yin statue shows Guan Yin holding the bottle of life in one hand
and a droplet of water in a form of a water ball in another hand. Her face is serene and peaceful.
Hand polished bronze in perfect condition, with some old age wears.
SIZE : 29,5 CM TALL x 15 CM Wide x 10 CM. WEIGHT: 2,63 kg
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Chinese Antique Buddha head from 1900 850 $ sold
Over 110 years old Chinese Buddha head mounted on a high class wood base.
It is made of fine natural stone and has a nice patina. This mounted statue is part of the Van Norten Collection since 60 years and has been exhibited in our private house since then. Wonderful, age related condition.
Weight 8,6 KG.
Height 32 cm
Width 18 cm
Dephs 20 cm
Base 18 x 16 x 8 cm ( incl. metal rod )
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