A
radiating four-armed Manjushri Bodhisattva, with a wisdom sword and an arrow in
his two right hands, and in his two left hands a bow and a Prajnaparamita Sutra
on a large lotus. He is wearing a five pronged crown, above which a small Buddha
seated inside a flaming limbus, with two locks of hair that flows down to both
sides of his shoulders, the youthful Bodhisattva of Wisdom is steadily gazing
downward in contemplation.
In its richly
gilded gold on a well cast smooth surface, with an immaculate finish by hand forged
every finer detail, the crisp features here clearly demonstrated a proficiency
of the 19th century Tibetan sculptural technique. Although this Manjushri Bodhisattva
statue is a prototype in accordance with centuries old Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
As shown here, the fully rounded twenty-two lotus petals combined with a circular
pedestal is an exceptional feature, which suggested a Mongolian stylistic influence
that made the statue a rarity.
