A Buddhist sculpture bought at a garage sale for approximately $75–100 later became the centre of a major Sotheby’s auction result, selling for $2.06 million in New York. The gilt-bronze figure depicts Cintamanicakra Avalokiteshvara, a form of the Chinese Buddhist deity Avalokiteshvara, also known as Guanyin. According to Sotheby's, the work dates to the late Tang Dynasty / Five Dynasties, and its seller said they had purchased it about 20 years earlier before taking it to an Antiques Roadshow appraisal event in St. Louis. The sculpture entered Sotheby’s Important Chinese Art auction with a pre-sale estimate of $60,000–80,000.
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Who was Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist deity behind the $2.06 million sculpture
Sotheby’s described Avalokiteshvara as “perhaps the most popular and well-known Buddhist deity in China”. The auction house explained that the deity, also known as Guanyin, appears in several forms, including Ekadashamuka, Amogopasha, Shadakshari, Water Moon Guanyin and the less common Cintamanicakra. These different forms developed as Buddhism evolved in China through the transmission and translation of different sutras.
The Cintamanicakra form is depicted with six arms. According to Sotheby’s, the figure holds a wish-granting jewel, known as the cintamani, in front of the chest, a chakra or dharma wheel in a raised palm, and a lotus stem in another hand. Another hand holds a mala, while the sixth is planted down for support.
Seven-minute bidding battle at Sotheby’s New York
The sculpture appeared in Sotheby’s New York auction of Important Chinese Art on 20 March 2019. The auction formed part of Sotheby’s Asia Week sales series, which featured Chinese works of art during the March 2019 auctions.
Sotheby’s said the sculpture’s sale followed a “seven-minute bidding battle”. The auction house reported that it had been brought to auction with an estimate of $60,000–80,000, before ultimately selling for $2,060,000. The auction result was listed alongside other Chinese works offered during the Important Chinese Art sale.
A Qing Dynasty jade brushpot also sold for $2.06 million
The Cintamanicakra Avalokiteshvara was one of several notable results from Sotheby’s March 2019 Asia Week sales in New York. The Important Chinese Art auction also included an exceedingly rare and important complete set of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment by the Qianlong Emperor, dated to 1746, which sold for $2.66 million.
Another major result was a rare white jade “Imperial Procession” brushpot from the Qing Dynasty (Qianlong/Jiaqing period), which sold for $2.06 million. Sotheby’s also reported that a group of Chinese jade offered by The Art Institute of Chicago sold out, bringing in $3.2 million.
