Page 44 - Maitri CollectionAsian Art Bonhams

However, Weldon also points to a Tibetan inscription on the tang of a figure of
Vajrahumkara from the same corpus in the Nyingjei Lam Collection as evidence to
support the theory that it was commissioned by a Tibetan patron. (Weldon & Casey
Singer, The Sculpture Heritage of Tibet, London, 1999, pp.86 & 88). While the inscription
could have been added later, the argument has merit. Von Schroeder also puts forward
the premise that these sculptures were made for Tibetans - in a Newari style because
they represented some of the very first products of a new patron-artist relationship at
the start of the Chidar (Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, vol.II, Hong Kong, 2001, discussed
pp.914 & 918-20; related images pp.932-9, nos.217-20).

On the other hand, the method of venerating sculptures in Tibet generally involves less
repetitive touching and ablutions than in Nepal, whereas all the above-cited examples,
including the present sculpture, exhibit a notable degree of overall wear to their gilding
and raised edges. Their condition indicates they were not dressed and worshipped
from afar on a Tibetan altar, or arranged intermittently for the appropriate ritual. Rather,
the evidence of repeated devotional fondling prompts us to consider at least three
possibilities. Firstly, in line with the earlier hypothesis, that early Tibetan patrons initially
adopted a Nepalese mode of ritual practice, in tandem with the latter’s aesthetic.
Secondly, that sculptures such as the present lot were made for the Newari Buddhist
communities themselves living in Tibet and transferred to monastic repositories at later
date. Or thirdly, that these sculptures were made and received some worship in Nepal
before being transferred to Tibet, perhaps to preserve them from disaster or by way of
diplomatic gifts.

Published
Marcel Nies Oriental Art, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Antwerp, 1999,
pp.10-1.
Jan van Alphen, Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in
Belgian and Dutch Collections, Antwerp, 2005, pp.146-7, no.43.

Exhibited
Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch
Collections, Ethnographic Museum, Antwerp, 12 February - 26 June 2005.

Provenance
Collection of Alice Boney, USA, 1970s
Arnold Lieberman, New York, 1998
Marcel Nies Oriental Art, Antwerp
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Meijer, the Netherlands, 1999-2013
Marcel Nies Oriental Art, Antwerp
Acquired from the above at TEFAF Maastricht, 29 March 2013

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