Page 12 - Bonhams NYC Portraits of the Masters Bronzes march 2017
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3203 Identified by the inscription, this handsome bronze depicts arhat
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF GOPAKA Gopaka in a voluminous robe with delicately patterned hems. An
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY archetypal ascetic, he has an emaciated face from his relentless
Inscription translated, ‘Arya Gopaka’. atonement for past crimes. His name means “unpleasant sight”,
Himalayan Art Resources item no.2248 having contracted a ghastly illness in infancy, which was the result
6 1/4 in. (15.8 cm) high of wrongdoing in a distant previous life. Covered in sores, his father
US$30,000 - 50,000 brought him to see doctors in Sravasti, where young Gopaka
西藏 十八世紀 銅鎏金戒博迦像 encountered the Buddha and began the search for enlightenment.
10 | BONHAMS Published
Portraits of the Masters, pp.90-1, no.8.
Published & Exhibited
Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, p.149, no.96.
Provenance
Christie’s, Amsterdam, 21 November 1990, lot 261