Page 181 - Art De' Asie Christie's Paris December 16, 2022

PROPERTY FROM A FRENCH PRIVATE COLLECTION
173
GROUPE DE MAHACHAKRAVAJRAPANI ET SA PARÈDRE EN
BRONZE DORÉ
TIBET, XVIÈME SIÈCLE
Il est représenté debout en pratyalidhasana sur une base lotiforme, écrasant of Sonam Gyaltsen was only uncovered recently through the translation of an
deux divinités dont l'une à quatre têtes, un disque est disposé entre le dos inscription on a large image of Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara, which came
le pieds de Mahachakravajrapani et le dos des divinités. Ses deux bras to the market in 2018, scholars have begun to establish his canon of works
principaux en abhayamudra entourent sa parèdre tenant le kartrika, ses quatre through stylistic association. The present work, a masterpiece of Tibetan
bras rayonnants tiennent un vajra et divers attributs. Ses trois visages à
l'expression féroce sont surmontés d'une tiare ouvragée. Mahachakravajrapani metalworking, is certainly a part of this tradition.
est vêtu d'une peau de tigre ceinturée à la taille, lui et sa parèdre ont leur corps
Compare the rich gilding and use of inset turquoise with another image of
richement paré de bijoux incrustés de turquoise et de verre ; rescellée.
Mahachakra Vajrapani, originally in the collection of Phillip Goldman, London,
Hauteur : 20,2 cm.(8 in.)
illustrated by Ulrich von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981,
€50,000-80,000 US$50,000-80,000 p. 453, cat. no. 124E.
£45,000-70,000
PROVENANCE:
Previously from a French private collection, thence by descent to the present
family.
A GILT-BRONZE GROUP OF MAHACHAKRAVAJRAPANI AND HIS
CONSORT
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY
⌅國私Ӫ珍藏
西藏 十六ц紀 鎏金銅金剛手菩薩৺佛母・像
ֶⓀ
⌅國私Ӫ舊藏ˈਾ家族傳承

This luminous image, richly gilt and finely incised with various motifs,
depicts Mahachakra Vajrapani, the Tantric form of the bodhisattva, Vajrapani.
Considered a yidam – a meditational deity that can convey certain powers
or spiritual insights - Mahachakra Vajrapani is found in many of the various
schools of Tibetan Buddhism, but is perhaps most important to the Gelug
sect.
The figure of Mahachakra Vajrapani strides in alidhasana on prone images of
Shiva and Brahma, representing the ascendency of Buddhist theology over
worship of the Hindu gods. He holds his primary hands in abhayamudra and
varadamudra, the gestures of reassurance and giving. His raised right hand
holds the vajra, the symbolic thunderbolt that gives rise to his name, and
with which he strikes down ignorance. The other hands hold the body of a
great naga, or snake, which he dramatically gnashes with his teeth. Snakes
hold special importance in the religions of South Asia, with both auspicious
connotations but also dangerous power, given the potency of their venom. In
the present figure Mahachakra Vajrapani demonstrates his significant power,
both corporeally but also tantrically, in both mastering the wily serpent and
converting the poison of the venom into spiritual insight. His consort Mamaki
wraps one leg around Vajrapani’s waist, her face pressed close to his, and
holds aloft a skull cup and curved knife. Both figures are also adorned with
various coiled nagas as armlets, anklets, and earrings, accentuating the
connection to the power of mastering the serpent.
Both figures are raised on an elegant single-lotus base with a beaded rim
and ornate band with incised decoration alternating between cross-hatched
diaper and foliate motifs. The luxurious incised decoration continues onto the
hems of the various figures’ robes, the tiger skin wrapped around Vajrapani’s
waist, and even the body of the naga clutched in his teeth. Such masterful
work, combined with the lavish turquoise inlay and rich, heavy gilding,
indicates the work was likely the product of a master workshop. Stylistically,
the work bears close resemblance to the atelier of Sonam Gyaltsen (active in
the first half of the fifteenth century), who carried out a number of important
works from his workshop in Shigatse in Central Tibet. Although the identity

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