Page 56 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

These two sculptures were likely commissioned by a student of the Fourth Sharmapa either
during the Sharmapa’s lifetime or shortly thereafter. No other pieces from the same commission
are known, which would otherwise indicate the pair are part of a larger lineage set. Further to
the contrary, the artist has paired the two hierarchs with matching physiques, robes, and hand
gestures (mudras).

Silver is a rarer commodity considered more precious than gold in Tibet. In sculpture, it is
generally used sparingly as inlay, rather than a figure being cast outright from the costly metal.
However, silver sculptures were produced for wealthy patrons who wanted to stress their
reverence for the subject and enhance the merit generated by their commission with more
costly materials. Pairing a silver figure with a gilt-bronze base was also popular, a practice
that was adopted early in the Himalayas by the Khasa Mallas, who ruled the Karnali Basin of
western Nepal and part of western Tibet between the 12th and 14th centuries. In fact, the
plump petals on these two sculptures, embellished with tiny engraved markings, appear to take
inspiration from Khasa Malla sculpture. See a bronze Hevajra and a silver lama above a gilt-
bronze base in Alsop, “The Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Malla Kingdom”, in Orientations: Art
of Tibet, Hong Kong, 1998, p.165, fig.6 and von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of the Alain
Bordier Foundation, Hong Kong, 2010, pp.28-9, pl.11, respectively. Other examples of silver
portraits on gilt-bronze lotus bases include a Padmasambhava in the Rubin Museum of Art
(Collection Highlights, New York, 2014, pp.138-9), and a Sangye Chopa published in Grewenig
& Rist (eds.), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art,, Völklingen, 2016, p.456, no.201.

Published
David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the
Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, pp.180-1, pls.44&44a.
F. Ricca, Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell’ Himalaya, Turin, 2004, figs.IV.57&58.

Exhibited
The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Ashmolean
Museum, Oxford, 6 October – 30 December 1999.
Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell’ Himalaya, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, June –
September 2004.
Stable as a Mountain: Gurus in Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 13 March – 13
July 2009.
Lama, Patron, Artist: The Great Situ Panchen, Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian
Institution, Washington, D.C., 13 March – 18 July 2010.
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York,
2 March 2012 – 11 February 2013.

Provenance
The Collection of Mrs. James W. Alsdorf (Karmapa only)
Sotheby’s, New York, 5 December 1992, lot 52 (Karmapa only)
The Nyingjei Lam Collection
On loan to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1996 – 2005
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005 – 2019

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