Page 36 - Indian, Himalaya and Asian Art Bonhams Setp 2015

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A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHAKYA HIERARCH
Tibet, 15th/16th century
With hands in vitarkamudra holding lotus stems supporting the khadga and prajnaparamita
sutra, he wears a flowing robe over the long skirt (shemdap), a delicately incised sleeveless
jacket (dhonka) with floral and trellis patterns, and the red monastic cap with long lappets
falling over the shoulders.
7 in. (17.7 cm) high
$30,000 - 50,000
西藏 十五／十六世紀 銅鎏金薩迦派祖師坐像
Shakya lamas are commonly depicted with the implements of Manjushri. Without an inscription
we cannot securely identify the patriarch, however, he closely resembles a portrait of Drogmi
Lotsawa Shyaka Yeshe (c.992-1072) in the Oliver Hoare Collection. The treatment of the lotus
petals and thin beading around the lower edge of the base are identical. As are the handling
of the robes and size, suggesting that the two figures are from the same set (see Dinwidde,
Potraits of the Masters, London, 2003, p. 229, pl. 55). Also compare with a portrait of
Shakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltsen (1182-1251) in the Rubin Museum of Art: himalayanart.org/
items/65460.
The chased textile patterns of the lama’s jacket replicate Chinese brocades from which these
patchwork jackets were traditionally made. The sculpture also follows the post-Yongle convention
of draping the robe across the base in dense folds. Compare the treatment of the lotus base,
also with a plain upper rim, on a 15th-century portrait bronze of the Tibetan translator Brogmi,
published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, 2001, p. 1073, pl. 276C.
However, the more naturalistic modeling of the hands and feet, together with a lithe body,
are indicative of Newari craftsmanship found in superior Tibetan sculptures. Compare with a
closely related example sold at Nagel, 5/6 June 2015, lot 1538, and three Shakya lamas sold
at Sotheby’s, London, 19 March 2008, lots 304, 305 and especially 306 – of the fourth abbot
of Ngor monastery, Gyaltshap Kunga Wangchuk. Also compare to another, formerly in the
Onno Jansen Collection, sold at Christie’s, New York, 22 March 2011, lot 336.
Referenced
HAR - himalayanart.org/items/33030
Provenance
Private American Collection
Acquired in Kathmandu in the early 1960s

34 | BONHAMS