Page 30 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

615
A SILVER INLAID GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MANJUSHRI
NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16815
4 3/4 in. (12.2 cm) high

$60,000 - 80,000

尼泊爾 十四世紀 銅錯銀鎏金文殊菩薩像

Manjushri is one of the most important and popularly invoked bodhisattvas in Mahayana and
Vajrayana Buddhism. The Bodhisattva of Perfected Wisdom is represented here in a gem-like
gilded image. Holding his hands in the teaching mudra, he gently looks down and enters a
state of meditation, while a slight contrapuntal sway of his head and torso adds a sense of
immediacy. His sword and sutra emerge from two prominent lotus flowers by his shoulders
forming a wing-like silhouette, highlighting the bodhisattva’s transcendent nature.

The sculpting of the figure’s powerful yet supple physique and the exquisite detailing of his
regalia are hallmarks of Newari master craftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley working for
Tibetan patrons. His robust body type and broad forehead conform to classic Nepalese
aesthetics, as does the compressed lotus base with plump petals. His necklace, armbands,
and earrings, bedecked with inset stones and silver inlay, are remarkably elaborate for a
sculpture of this scale.

A larger gilt bronze Manjushri in the Capital Museum, Beijing is stylistically related to the present
work (Capital Museum, The Goddess of Mercy in Buddhism, Beijing, 2008, pp.198-9, no.9).
The two figures are similar in their robust body and facial type, and wear almost identical ear
ornaments–each consisting of a diamond-shaped pendant and an upswept tassel inset with
semi-precious stones. They also share the same type of dhoti with incised floral patterns
around the knee and rice-grain design within the hem.

A 14th-century Amitayus in the Collection of Harish K. Patel has almost identical armbands and
crown (see Hall (ed.), Tibet: Tradition and Change, Albuquerque, 1997, pp.84-5, pl.42a). Also
compare the lotus base and the down swept lotus petals supporting the sutra by his shoulder
to another Manjushri published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981,
p.376, no.100C.

Provenance
Private Swiss Collection since 2009

28 | BONHAMS