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3206
A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF AMOGHASIDDHI
NEPAL OR TIBET, 11TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61524
9 in. (23 cm) high

$300,000 - 500,000

尼泊爾/西藏 十一世紀 銅鎏金不空成就佛坐像

This assured figure of Amoghasiddhi ranks well among the powerful representations of
the Five Tathagathas, or Wisdom Buddhas, popular during Tibet’s Buddhist renaissance
in the 10th-12th centuries. He belongs to a rare and early corpus of bronzes that are
key to our understanding of the transmission and creation of Buddhist art in Tibet in its
early days, and Nepal’s role within it. Being a superior example of the type, the Maitri
Amoghasiddhi has a sleeker patina and is of a significantly larger scale, comparing
favorably to the Ellsworth Amitabha (“Manjushri”) sold at Christie’s, New York, 17 March
2015, lot 10.

With his right hand, he offers the gesture of reassurance (abhaya mudra) while seated
in the diamond pose (vajraparyankasana). His regalia are lavish, yet unaffected, wearing
prominent armbands and a necklace with pendant tripartite jewels. His sheer cross-
body sash and lower garment are finely incised with floral patterns. His towering crown
is extraordinary, with a tall foliate leaf for each of the cardinal directions, surrounding a
central jatamukata. Retaining much of its original gilding and pigment, the ensconced
chignon depicts stacks of loose curls rising towards a surmounting lotus bud. His
earrings compare to a stele of Uma Maheshvara, dated 1012, published in Pal, The Arts
of Nepal, Leiden, 1974, fig.51.

The sculpture belongs to a group created by Newari artisans which has mostly survived
in Tibet. See a number of examples in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, vol. II,
Hong Kong, 2003, nos.219A-E. This has led to varying opinions about whether they were
produced for Tibetan patrons, for Newari Buddhists living in Tibet, or only transferred to
Tibetan monastic repositories after some initial devotional careers in Nepal.

Newari proclivities and craftsmanship are clear throughout the sculpture. The piece
is solidly cast (flawlessly) in a high copper alloy, lending it a rich dark brown color and
heavy weight. The facial type, tall crown, and restraint of ornamentation follow Licchavi
tropes. When discussing the present lot, Weldon thought the extended proportions of
its crown were a departure from the Newari style prompted by a Tibetan patron (Weldon
in, Cast for Eternity, 2005, p. 10). But, there is a clear precedent in earlier Nepalese art,
as exemplified by a c.800 Avalokiteshvara in Cha bahil, Nepal, and a group of copper
sculptures preserved in Tibet (Pal, The Arts of Nepal, Leiden, 1974, fig.187; and von
Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol.1, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.467-9, nos.
145B&C; respectively).

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