Page 70 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3032
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI
TIBET, 14TH/15TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.13064
10 7/8 in. (27.6 cm) high

$60,000 - 80,000

西藏 十四/十五世紀 銅鎏金釋迦牟尼佛坐像

Richly gilded and finely cast in the round, Shakyamuni sits in bhumisparsha mudra on a
vajra-throne (vajrasana), wearing a monk’s patchwork robe. The back of the robe enfolds
the subtle contours of his body, while the central strip below the neck is incised with a
single chakra or flower motif, not found elsewhere on the robe.

The arrangement of the robe where the garment is drawn across the right shoulder and
tucked into a hem just below the right side of the chest is a convention also found in
wall paintings from Dunhuang (cf. Duan and Fu, Zhong guo dun huang bi hua quan ji
(General Collection of Dunhuang Wall Paintings in China), Shenyang, 2006, p.33, no.34).
This mode re-emerged in Western Tibetan thangkas and sculptures of the 14th and 15th
century (cf. Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1996, p.81 & 87,
nos.4 & 6; von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.428, no.112C;
and HAR item nos. 71785, 71785 & 70672).

The vajra symbol partially sunk into the base before the Buddha is considered a reference
to the time and location of his enlightenment at Bodhgaya, Northeastern India. The lotus
petals are swollen and layered in a manner consistent with the style prevalent in 14th-
and 15th-century Central Tibet. Compare a related figure of Shakyamuni in the Rietberg
Museum (Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zurich, 1995, p.72, no.30).

Provenance
Philip Goldman Collection, London
Sotheby’s, New York, 21 March 2002, lot 160
Private Collection, New York

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