Page 48 - Sporer Collection of Himalayan bronzes

18
A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRABHAIRAVA AND VAJRAVETALI
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY

Striding in alidhasana in embrace on the backs of a menagerie of
animals supported by prone fgures of Hindu gods over a lotus base
incised with lotuses and diaper patterns; he holding a skull cup and
vajra in his primary hands and a multitude of accoutrements in the
other thirty-two hands radiating about him, adorned with the sacred
thread and a garland of severed heads, his central ferocious bull’s face
fanked by six human faces and two above; she holding a skullcup
and curved knife and ornamented in a bone apron and other beaded
jewelry, with polychromy remaining on both faces and hair
10√ in. (27.8 cm.) high

$400,000-600,000

PROVENANCE:

The Sporer Collection, New Jersey, acquired from Doris Wiener,
New York, 18 March 1970

EXHIBITED:

Tantric Buddhist Art, China House Gallery, China Institute of
America, New York, 14 March 1974 – 24 May 1974

PUBLISHED:

E. Olson, Tantric Buddhist Art, 1974, pp.27, 60, cat. no.19
Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24031

Vajrabhairava, one of the principal meditational deities of Tibetan The Gelugpa enjoyed increased importance amongst the emperors of the
Buddhism, is the ferocious, thirty-four-armed manifestation of Manjushri, Ming dynasty, thanks in part to Shakya Yeshe’s prolonged presence in the
the God of Wisdom. Like Yamantaka, he is a destroyer of death itself. His capital; from the mid-17th century on, they were the dominant theocratic
depictions vary from the highly complex with multiple heads and arms power in Tibet, and the sole represented Tibetan Buddhist institution in
to the very concise with a single face and two arms. The present work China. Tsongkhapa as well as the Chinese emperor were also considered
shows him in embrace with Vajravetali, symbolizing the dualistic totality manifestations of Manjushri, explaining in part his popularity within China
encompassing compassion (embodied by the male) and wisdom (associated and Gelug-Tibet. The Qing emperors maintained direct links with the
with the female). dignitaries of the Gelug sect, including the Dalai and Panchen Lamas,
and propagated this form of Buddhism within China itself, sponsoring
Vajrabhairava is an important deity in all sects of Tibetan Buddhism, but the lavish construction of numerous temples in and around the capital of
perhaps none more so than in the Gelug school. The founder of that Beijing. In the 18th century, the Qianlong Emperor promoted himself as a
tradition, Tsongkhapa, popularized the worship of Vajrabhairava in the 14th manifestation of Manjushri as well, underlining his wisdom, compassion,
century, and also systemized his iconography; among other aspects, the and spiritual transcendence. Images of Vajrabhairava, therefore, carried
arrangement of the additional faces in a circular manner around the back both a religious and political weight, fulflling their role within Gelug
of the head became almost exclusively reserved for Gelugpa depictions of worship and practice, while simultaneously promoting the lineage of the
the deity. As this feature is present in the current work, one can ascertain Chinese Emperor.
that it was created according to Gelugpa principles. Within that tradition,
Vajrabhairava is one of the principle meditation deities of the Anuttarayoga For a slightly later example with nearly identical iconography, gifted to the
practice, alongside Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara. Los Angeles County Museum of Art by Christian Humann, see P. Pal, Art of
Tibet, 1983, p.105, pl.41 and pp.216-217, fg.S28.

46 THE SPORER COLLECTION OF HIMALAYAN SCULPTURE