Page 30 - Bonhams NYC Portraits of the Masters Bronzes march 2017

3220 Their addition to the group of Marpas suggest that, in their initial
A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID BRASS ALLOY FIGURE OF context, all might have originated from sets of the Karma Kagyu’s
MILAREPA great teachers. Also similar to the Marpas, the skill and resources
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY invested in each work suggest that, unless made shortly before the
Himalayan Art Resources item no.2258 persecution of the Karma Kagyu under the Fifth Dalai Lama in the
6 1/8 in. (15.7 cm) high mid-to-late 17th century, these bronzes would have been produced
in the 18th century, at the Karma Kagyu’s new base of operations in
US$40,000 - 60,000 Eastern Tibet. From there we might pinpoint Derge as the place of
production, known for its superlative metalwork.
西藏 十八世紀 錯銀錯紅銅密勒日巴銅像
Published
As with the known variants on the portrait of Marpa (lot 3218), these Portraits of the Masters, pp.146-7, no.22.
twin sculptures of Milarepa (also lot 3221) appear to illustrate the
practice of casting multiples of near-identical models, catering to two Published & Exhibited
different systems of taste in Tibet: gilt and non-gilt bronzes. Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, p.165, no.22.

Provenance
Sotheby’s, New York, 30 November 1994, lot 64

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