14th Century Kamakura Gilt Bronze Pensive Maitreya Miroku Bosatsu Buddha Statue

Antique Japanese Gilt Bronze StatueMaitreya BuddhaMiroku Bosatsu in Pensive GestureCirca: Kamakura Period, 14th Century and EarlierH 18.5 in.(47 cm), W 8 in.(20 cm), D 8 in.(20 cm)Condition: oxidation, gilt loss and minor imperfection! Maitreya, the Future Buddha, whose name in Sanskrit means “Loving Kindness”. Along with Gautama Buddha, he was the most celebrated figure of the Gandhara art in the first century. In the 4th-6th century China, there was little distinction in the iconography of these two Buddhas. Later scholars attributed the origin of the pensive Maitreya as the young Prince Siddhartha in meditation pose. The oldest of such pensive Buddha excavated in Hebei Province in China bears the date of 553 A.D. (Tianbao). A similar wood Maitreya in Koryuji, Kyoto is dated 660 A.D., and a bronze pensive Maitreya in Korea dated late seventh century. The Pensive Meditating Bodhisattva is popularly known in Japan as Hanka Shii Bosatsu, or Hokan Miroku, the Crowned Maitreya. As shown