Page 50 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015

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A parcel-gilt copper alloy figure of Shakyamuni
Qing, 18th century
Seated in dhyanasana on an oval base in the attitude of bhumisparsha mudra, his face and
hair with remains of cold gold and pigments.
7 3/8 in. (18.6 cm) high
$50,000 - 70,000

The Qianlong Emperor took great interest in Buddhist art across Asia, commissioning various
stylistic copies of sculptures that reached his court before or during his reign. His project then
influenced workshops throughout the empire. As Patricia Berger suggests:

‘For Qianlong, copying was a way of harnessing the careers of charismatic objects, of
possessing them, of channeling their energy in unexpected, powerful ways... For this
emperor, the image was a profound and mysterious thing that by its very nature could
survive long past its creation and outlast its creator to witness history, to forge a career
and life of its own, and even to spawn a family of derivative works.’ -- (Berger, Empire of
Emptiness, Honolulu, 2003, p. 127)

The present sculpture is one such ‘descendent’, recreating a 12th-century Nepalese style,
which in turn is derived from more ancient Licchavi-period Buddhas (5th-8th centuries).
The models used in Qing workshops would have been similar to a bronze formerly of the
Heeramaneck Collection (see Pal, Art of Nepal, Berkeley, 1985, no. 528) and another sold at
Sotheby’s, New York, 19 September 1996, lot 83.

Four Confessional Buddhas sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 5 December 1992, lot 48, and 19
September 1996, lot 79, represent similar examples of this Nepalese-revival style. However,
they are clearly not as refined. This gentle yet commanding sculpture is a superlative work of
the type; the contours of his hands and feet are carefully modeled and incised below a glossy
copper patina, and the hems of his monastic robe fan out in heart-shaped pleats before his
ankles. It is likely from the same set or workshop as a bronze of a Buddha published in Kazi,
Tibet House Museum: Inaugural Exhibition, New Delhi, 1965, pl. 16.

Referenced
HAR – himalayanart.org/image.cfm/41259.html

Provenance
Private European Collection
Acquired from the Private Collection of Ulrich von Schroeder in the late 1980s/early 90s

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