Gold statue of Maitreya inlaid with pearls

Qing Dynasty
Overall height: 54cm
Weight: 19030g

Maitreya wears ear ornaments and a crown with a Buddhist pagoda at the top. He has a full face and placid eyes, with a ruby inlaid between the brows. He wears silk ribbons around his upper body and a skirt as a lower garment, with strings of pearls and gems all over the body. The statue of Maitreya wears bracelets around both arms, with the left hand at his side and the palm-out right hand forming a circle with two fingers. Sitting on a round lotus petal seat, he wears anklets around his ankles. There are intertwining lotus branches winding their way up on both sides of the statue, with a Wheel of Dharma on top of the lotus flowers on one side and a treasure vase on the other.

This statue features the Tibetan Buddhist Maitreya. The elegantly-shaped and exquisitely-made glittering statue inlaid with 183 pearls of different sizes is a representative work of the Qing-Dynasty gold Buddha statues.