Page 116 - Bonhams NYC Portraits of the Masters Bronzes march 2017

3290 Almost as wide as he is tall, the Dalai Lama is cast with an
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF THE SECOND DALAI extraordinary sense of volume and presence. His joyful expression
LAMA, GENDUN GYATSO PELZANGPO draws the eye, and is flanked by a pair of big earlobes often
TIBET, LATE 16TH-17TH CENTURY considered auspicious in Chinese culture. He holds the teachings of
Inscription (on book held in hand) translated: ‘Here lie the Father and the ancient Kadam order, which the Gelug claimed to revitalize as they
Son teachings of the Kadam’. sought to trace their teaching lineages back to an Indian root in the
Himalayan Art Resources item no.2280 Kadam’s founder, Atisha (982-1054).
7 7/8 in. (20 cm) high

US$100,000 - 150,000 The office of the Dalai Lama was formally established in 1578, which
suggests a date no earlier for the bronze and the Ngok Loden Sherab
西藏 十六世紀晚期至十七世紀 銅鎏金二世達賴喇嘛根敦嘉措像 from the same atelier (lot 89). Another from the same workshop is
published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981,
There can be no mistaking his likeness to the stout, broad featured, pp.448-9, no.122G.
smiling figure within the Museum Rietberg, identified by inscription
as the Second Dalai Lama, Gendun Gyatso Pelzangpo (1475–1542). Published
Moreover, while the Rietberg example unusually depicts him holding a Portraits of the Masters, pp.308-9, no.84.
vase, the Narthang woodblocks, which inspired generations of painted
copies, depict the Second Dalai Lama holding a book instead (cf. Published & Exhibited
HAR set no.965). Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, p.215, no.186.

Provenance
Sotheby’s, New York, 26 March 1998, lot 144.

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