Page 94 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3035
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF TARA
TIBET, CIRCA 15TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61537
9 1/2 in. (24.2 cm) high

$30,000 - 50,000

西藏 約十五世紀 銅鎏金度母坐像

This finely detailed sculpture depicts the young goddess Syamatara, who is venerated as
a liberator, freeing devotees from the chain of birth and rebirth and all the suffering that
ensues. In mythological accounts, she emerges from the tears of Avalokiteshvara as he
weeps for the suffering of all sentient beings: a testament to her supreme compassion
and agency. As such, she is depicted with her right leg outstretched, ready to respond to
one’s suffering, and her right hand in the gesture of charity.

Special attention has been given to her five-leaf crown, positioned high on her forehead
and secured with ribbon ties that curl up at the back. Delicate beaded swags loop across
her neatly arranged coiffure, drawn up into a bun. She is adorned with inset jewelry, while
prominent multi-stem lotuses frame her shoulders to complete the attractive composition.

Her slightly attenuated form and the treatment of the base’s lotus petals are consistent
with a style favored by the craftsmen of the Khasa Malla kingdom in the 14th century, as
seen in the Dakini held in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (acc.#M85.221), and
published in Casey Singer & Denwood, Toward a Definition of Style, p.74, no.52. Also
compare the base of a 14th-century figure of Ushnishavijaya in the Museum Rietberg
(Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, p.153, p.98). Compare the facial type and neck
with a figure of Manjushri sold at Bonhams, New York, 16 March 2015, lot 14, and
another Syamatara sold 14 March 2016, lot 28.

Provenance
Private Collection, Toronto, 1985
Private Canadian Collection

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