A LARGE TIBETAN-CHINESE PAINTING OF AVALOKITESHVARA SAHASRABHUJA, EARLY 20TH CENTURY1900-1950. Gilt, ink and watercolors on paper, mounted as a hanging scroll. The thousand-armed, eleven-headed deity standing in samabhanga on a lotus dais emerging from a lake in a verdant landscape with colorful swirling clouds, surrounded by seated Buddhas and teachers. His main hands are clasped together in anjali mudra, his secondary hands holding attributes including a bow and arrow, lotus blossom, rosary, and dharmachakra, with countless further hands radiating around him.Provenance: English trade.Condition: Excellent condition with minor wear.Dimensions: Image size 138 x 88 cmOne prominent Buddhist story tells of Avalokiteshvara vowing never to rest until he had freed all sentient beings from saṃsara. Despite strenuous effort, he realizes that many unhappy beings were yet to be saved. After struggling toprehend the needs of so many, his head splits into eleven pieces. Amitabha, seeing his plight, gives him eleven heads with which to hear the cries of the suffering. Upon hearing these cries andprehending them, Avalokiteshvara tries to reach out to all those who needed aid but found that his two arms shattered into pieces. Once more, Amitabhaes to his aid and invests him with a thousand arms with which to aid the suffering multitudes.Expert’s note: Tibet was a de facto independent state between the collapse of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in 1912 and its annexation by the People's Republic of China in 1951. In 1913, the Dalai Lama, who lived in exile in India, returned to Tibet and declared that Tibet's relation with China ended with the fall of the Qing dynasty and proclaimed independence. Nonetheless, Tibetan paintings from this period such as the present lot exhibit the typical Chinese influences also seen in earlier thangkas from the 18th and 19th centuries, including the swirling colorful clouds and bluish-green verdant landscape.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Paris, 10 June 2021, lot 46Price: EUR 4,080 or approx.EUR 4,400 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A thangka of Sahasrabhuja Lokeshvara, Tibet, early 20th centuryExpert remark: Note the significantly smaller size (60 x 40 cm)二十世紀初漢藏千手觀音唐卡1900-1950年，紙本水墨設色描金，掛軸。蓮座從碧湖升起，山間祥雲，千手觀音上身肩搭帔帛，帔帛繞兩臂而下，流暢圓轉。正面雙手合十，右邊三手分別持念珠、法輪、施無畏印；左邊三手執蓮花、弓箭、淨水瓶。下身著長裙，以立姿站於被蓮莖托起的蓮花之上。