Page 24 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

611
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA VAJRASANA
NEPAL, EARLY MALLA PERIOD, 13TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16803
6 5/8 in. (16.8 cm) high

$100,000 - 150,000

尼泊爾 馬拉王朝早期 十三世紀 銅鎏金金剛座佛陀像

This flawless gilt bronze recalls the moment of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment. His gaze transfixed
in meditation, he extends his right index finger down to beseech the Earth’s testimony to
his enlightenment. The small vajra placed before his ankles makes mnemonic reference to
Shakyamuni’s ‘vajra seat’ (vajrasana): the very site of his accomplishment, which is enshrined at
the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya, Northeastern India.

Beautifully modeled and finely chased, the bronze is gilded with a warm hue over a copper-rich
brown surface. It is a classic example of the exceptional quality produced by Newari master
craftsmen from Nepal in the Early Malla Period (13th-15th century). The Newars adapted
the basic iconography of Northeastern Indian Buddha images, depicting the Buddha with
a broader, more nourished physique, elaborating on the fishtail pleat of Buddha’s robe and
placing higher over his left shoulder, and adding a decorative hem over the left bicep. (This
can be gleaned from contrasting 10th-century Northeastern Indian bronzes in Roy, Eastern
Indian Bronzes, New Delhi, 1986, nos.217-21 with Newari bronzes in Pal, Desire and Devotion,
Baltimore, 2001, pp.284-5, no.163, and sold at Bonhams, New York, 18 September 2013, lot
8.)

Other Newari features presented by this bronze are the Buddha’s delightfully modeled toes
and the ‘rice-grain’ pattern incised along the detailed hems. The construction of the sculpture’s
base—made by joining separately cast top and bottom rows of lotus petals at a deeply
recessed waist—is another enduring feature of Nepalese bronzes. Renown throughout the
Buddhist world, Newari masters of the Early Malla Period produced bronzes for both domestic
and foreign patrons, as showcased by similar examples published in von Schroeder, Buddhist
Sculpture in Tibet, Vol.I, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.522-523, no.170c & Vol. II, pp.962-3, no.231C).
Though of quaint scale, this bronze stands as a perfect testament to why the works of Newari
master craftsmen are so revered for their quality and character.

Provenance
Private Swiss Collection since 2007

22 | BONHAMS