Page 64 - 2020 Nov 30 Christie's Hong Kong Important Chiense Works of Art

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTOR
3020

A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF GREEN TARA ⾿Ⳋ Ո⯅۶ ڊ˒ ڊՌˡ☹ 㛶㕺㘍⚸༃᣷চӐ
TIBET OR INNER MONGOLIA, 17TH-18TH CENTURY ϝᬝ
The figure is seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus base with her ' "EBNT ᘰᓄ⯠⻦卿ᬘߧᛞ卻۔卼
hands in varada- and vitarkamudras, clad in a flowing dhoti, inlaid ჺ㐟⯇ .BSDFM /JFT卿໫⁞ヵ᛿
with turquoise and glass stones, the face with a serene expression,
⡥⡙ӷɛޜᔛ
highly arched brows and surmounted by a tall chignon.
18 æ in. (47.6 cm.) high
HK$700,000-900,000 US$91,000-120,000

PROVENANCE
Collection of Prof. F. Adams, Belgium, by repute
With Marcel Nies, Antwerp, 2018
Acquired from the above, 2018
Although carried out in a somewhat idiosyncratic style, the present
figure, with its upright posture, attenuated features, and ornate incised
decoration, shares many stylistic characteristics with gilt-bronze
Buddhist sculpture from the areas of Inner Mongolia outside the Qing
capital of Beijing. The monastery of Dolonnor in particular was well-
established as an important centre for the production of Buddhist
metal sculpture. The site was purposefully built not far from Shangdu
(Xanadu), the old thirteenth century summer capital of Kublai Khan.
The Mongolian lama, master artist, and leader of the Khalka Mongols,
Zanabazar, formally assimilated his khanate into the Qing Empire before
the Kangxi Emperor at Dolonnor in 1691. It continued to be an important
bronze image foundry even into the late nineteenth century, as noted by
the Russian explorer Nikolay Przhevalsky on one of his expeditions to
Mongolia in the 1870s (N. Przhevalsky, Mongolia, London, 1876, p. 105).
Metal images from Dolonnor are typically produced using the repoussé
technique, whereby thin metal is beaten over a mold, and several
smaller parts would be joined together with rivets. The present figure
is particularly rare for it being cast, rather than carried out in repoussé.
Compare with another gilt-bronze figure of Tara, attributed to Dolonnor,
sold at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2019, lot 674; both the present
figure and the New York example were cast in a few pieces and
ingeniously joined along hidden seams. The two figures also share
similar facial features, including deeply-arched brows, long, thin noses,
and short, bow-shaped mouths. While the robes of the dhoti of the
present figure are somewhat more naturalistic than the heavy, rhythmic
folds of the New York example, both are ornately incised along the hems.

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