Page 282 - Bonhams Fine Chinese Art Nov 2013 London

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A rare gilt-bronze figure of Nagaraja
17th/18th century
Cast with seven serpents rearing their heads above
the blue-tinted coiled hair of the Buddhist deity and
reaching their long bodies down the length of his
back, the eyes gazing down at the hands clasped
together in uttarabodhi, the gesture of perfection,
above the crossed legs seated on a double-lotus
pedestal.
28cm (11in) high
£15,000 - 20,000
HK$190,000 - 250,000
CNY150,000 - 200,000
十七/十八世紀 銅鎏金龍尊王佛坐像
This rare and impressive sculpture depicts the
Buddha Nagaraja, or Buddha Nageshvara Raja;
his title in English is the ‘Enlightened One, the King
of the Snakes’. Together with other Indian cultic
aspects, the cult of the nagas was believed to have
been introduced to Buddhism at a very early stage
in Buddhist history, and in tantric Buddhism, nagas
or snakes are believed to be the keepers of tantric
teaching.
Depictions of the Buddha Nagaraja, whether painted
on thangkas or cast in bronze, are particularly rare.
He is primarily recognisable by the seven-snaked
hood or hair covering the head, but also by the
special gesture of the hands held in front of the
chest with the index fingers raised. In paintings he is
typically depicted with a white head and blue body.
For an example of a gilt bronze Buddha Nagaraja
in the Museum der Kulturen, Basel, see C.Wilpert
and M.Algar, Tibet: Buddha’s, Gods, Saints, 2001,
p.55, cat.no.14. See also another gilt bronze figure
of Buddha Nagaraja sold at Christie’s New York, 21
March 2012, lot 807.

Reverse

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