A Buddhist deity sculpture bought for about $75 at a garage sale later sold for $2.06 million at auction
A modest garage‑sale find, bought for roughly $75, turned out to be a gilt‑bronze figure from the late Tang or Five Dynasties period. The sculpture depicts Cintamanicakra Avalokiteshvara, a six‑armed form of the Chinese Buddhist deity Guanyin, and its journey from a suburban attic to a world‑renowned auction house is a striking reminder of hidden treasures in everyday places.
The statue’s iconography is rich: a wish‑granting jewel rests on its chest, a dharma wheel is held aloft, a lotus stem and a prayer mala appear in other hands, while the final arm provides a stable base. This particular manifestation of Avalokiteshvara, known for its compassionate presence, is one of many variations that evolved as Buddhism spread across China.
When the piece entered Sotheby’s Important Chinese Art auction in New York, it carried a pre‑sale estimate of $60,000–$80,000. A fierce seven‑minute bidding war propelled the work to a final hammer price of $2.06 million, far surpassing expectations and highlighting the market’s appetite for rare, well‑documented Asian art.
The sale was part of a broader Asian Week offering that also saw a Qing‑era jade brushpot and a complete set of the Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment fetch multi‑million sums. Together, these results underscored the continued vigor of the high‑end Chinese art market and the extraordinary stories that can emerge from the most unassuming origins.