Page 96 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3036
A BRASS ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRADHARA
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY
Inscribed around the base.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61547
16 1/8 in. (41 cm) high

$30,000 - 50,000

西藏 十六世紀 金剛總持銅像

This sizable sculpture bears a valuable inscription, translated:

“In order to fulfill the aspiration of an incomparable precious master, this image of
Vajradhara was sponsored by accomplished Godtsang masters and disciples. Created
by the hand of father and son Phandar artists. May the merit of sponsoring this image
help its sponsors be reborn among the closest disciples to their master.”

The bronze’s overall appearance is informed by the imperial Yongle style that circulated
throughout Tibet in the form of diplomatic gifts from the Ming court to major monasteries.
Decorative elements such as the pooling of the robes in loose folds over the legs, and
the elongated lotus petals of the base, betray the awareness of ‘Phandar artists’ of
the early Ming style of Buddhist bronzes. However, Tibetan departures include the tall
pointed crown and use of turquoise inlay. Compare for example a Tibetan 15th-century
Vajradhara now in the Palace Museum, Beijing (Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism
Collected in the Qing Palace, Beijing, 1992, p.86, pl.58). The crown type and treatment
of the lotus base is also similar to a Vajradhara illustrated in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan
Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.439, no.117F.

According to the Nyingma School, Vajradhara is an emanation of Buddha
Samantabhadra. Meanwhile, the other predominant Tibetan Buddhist schools see him as
the secret form of Shakyamuni Buddha and the combined essence of the Buddhas of all
ten directions and three periods of time gathered as one. From Vajradhara arise important
deities such as Guhyasamaja, Shri Hevajra, and Chakrasamvara.

Provenance
Spink & Sons Ltd, London, 1998
Private West Coast Collection

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