Page 34 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

In discussion of the present lot, Ian Alsop states:

“It is notable for the mystery that surrounds the Khasa Malla dynasty... The Khasa Mallas
were kings with somewhat contradictory origins and leanings. As Indo-Aryans who first
used the language now known as Nepali – the state language of the world’s “only Hindu
kingdom” – they were apparently Buddhists who ruled an area containing both Tibetan
Buddhists and Brahmanical Nepalese.”
(Foxun–zaoxiang yishu jicui – The Art of Buddhist Sculpture, Beijing, 2013, p.124):

The bronze sculpture patronized by these kings borrowed from the broader Newari
tradition of the Kathmandu Valley, while also distinguishing itself from it. The acutely
defined knuckles of the right hand and the ribbon-form jeweled earrings are two such
idioms setting the Khasa Malla style apart, in addition to the aforementioned base.
Related examples included a smaller Buddha on a plain lotus base, with a similarly broad
and robust frame, sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 17 June 1993, lot 9. Two without their
bases are in the collection of the Patan Museum (http://asianart.com/patan-museum/
a10.html) and the Rubin Museum of Art (HAR#65687). Another large Khasa Malla
Buddha of bulkier proportions on an unglided lotus base within a private Beijing collection
is published in Dependent Arising - Himalayan Art, Beijing, 2018, no.58. Also compare
with large sculptures of the Bon figure of Tonpa Shenrab in the Pritzker Collection
(HAR#58313).

Published
Yixi Pingcuo, Haiwai huiliu xizang wenwu jingcui (Quintessence of Returning Tibetan
Cultural Relics From Overseas), Beijing, 2012, pp.52-3.
Zaoxiang Yishu Jicui, The Art of Buddhist Sculpture Beijing, 2013, p.125.

Exhibited
Quintessence of Returning Tibetan Cultural Relics from Overseas, Tibet Museum, Lhasa,
June 2012.
The Art of Buddhist Sculpture, Capital Museum, Beijing, 8 - 28 November 2013.

Provenance
Rossi & Rossi, Hong Kong, 2004
Private Asian Collection

32 | BONHAMS