10th century, Northeastern India, Padmapani (Avalokiteshvara), stone, 13,8 cm, private collection, Arts d’Asie lot 142, 15th June 2023, Sotheby’s (Paris).
The bodhisattva of compassion, identified by the effigy of Amitabha in his hair and the lotus in his left hand, flanked by two female attendants.
10th century, Northeastern India, Padmapani Lokeshvara, stone, size not given, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art lot 757, 16th March 2016, Sotheby’s
A similar depiction in quite a different style, with the right hand intact and a lotus flower in its palm. He is attended by two yaksha figures, one of them possibly Yellow Jambhala holding a mongoose in his left hand and a fruit in the other.
Circa 11th century, Northeastern India, Avalokiteshvara, silver alloy, 55,3 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume One, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 311 pl. 106 B, at the Ngor E wam monastery, Tsang province (Tibet).
Apart from the locks of hair piled into a tall chignon (jatamukuta), this looks like the padmapani form too, but the monks told the author that the statue represents the khasarpana form of Avalokiteshvara.
There is an effigy of Amitabha between his hair and his tiara. His left hand makes the gesture to bestow refuge (tip of the ring finger against tip of the thumb).
11th-12th century, Indian work for Tibetans, Sadaksari Lokesvara attended by Manidhara and Sadaksari Mahavidya, stone, 13,8 cm, photo as before (p. 383 pl. 122 B), Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 1576, Lhasa (Tibet).
The most common four-arm form of the deity always sits with his main hands joined before his heart to hold a wish-granting gem; his other right hand clutches a rosary, the left one holds a lotus. His attendants are Manidhara (male), who may have two or four arms, and Shadakshari Mahavidya, who is Shadakshari Lokeshvara’s female equivalent. In this case, Manidhara has two hands, in which he holds a jewel and a flower topped with a jewel. According to the author, the two figures above the attendants are monks: an Indian teacher and his Tibetan disciple (yet the latter wears a layman’s garment with long sleeves). There is an effigy of Amitabha at the top of the arch.
11th-12th century, Indian work for Tibetans, Amogapasa with Tara, Sudhanakumara, Hayagriva, and Bhrkuti, stone, 11,5 cm, photo as before (p. 381 pl. 121 C), Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 1633, Lhasa (Tibet).
Amoghapasha, whose name means ‘unfailing lasso’, is usually understood as a form of Avalokiteshvara, yet he has a very different iconography. He may have two arms, in which case he holds a ring in his left hand, or four, six, eight, or twelve arms (Alice Getty even mentions one with 20 arms), in which case one of his attributes is always a noose or a lasso. The eight-arm form always holds a tridandi (a trident made of three lotus stalks) in one of his left hands, and usually has the stalk of a lotus, a manuscript, a water pot in the remaining left hands, as above. Two of the right hands hold a rosary and a noose respectively, the third one makes the fear-allaying gesture and the lower one makes the gesture of supreme generosity.
Himalayan Buddhist Art - Art Bouddhiste de l'Himalaya 