46. STATUETTE D'AVALOKITESHVARA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE VALLÉE DE SWAT, VIIE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4895 10.8 cm (4 1/4 in.) high A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA SWAT VALLEY, 7TH CENTURY 斯瓦特 七世紀 觀音銅像 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s Elegantly holding the stem of the lotus flower between the thumb and fingers of his left hand, this bronze of Avalokiteshvara illustrates the sophisticated and well-balanced details of Swat Valley bronzes. The waisted double lotus base, pleated lower garment, athletic build, singular oval earring, and fan-like coiffure are distinctive elements of this Swat Valley style, which adopted a syncretic blend of art coming from the Kushans, Guptas, and Sasanians. The verdant Swat Valley fell within the cultural boundaries of Gandhara and its Indo-Greek Buddhist culture which emerged after the invasion of Alexander the Great in 327 BCE. Populated with monastic complexes, this region became a significant locus for the spread of Buddhism throughout the Himalayas, specifically propagating the tenets of Mahayana Buddhism through the bodhisattva path to enlightenment. These enlightened beings, like Avalokiteshvara represented here, aid all sentient beings along their spiritual path. The manner in which this figure of Avalokiteshvara hold the diagnostic lotus flower carried over from Swat into Kashmir, Western Tibet, and farther east. Compare to another bodhisattva with similar features sold at Sotheby's, London, 10 March 1986, lot 96. Another image of the same deity with similar physical proportions is illustrated in Jongeward, Buddhist Art of Gandhara: In the Ashmolean Museum, 2019, p. 158, no. 132.