Page 84 - Sporer Collection of Himalayan bronzes

37 PROVENANCE:
A BRONZE FIGURE OF VAISHRAVANA RIDING A LION
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY The Sporer Collection, New Jersey, acquired by 4 March 1973

Seated on a recumbent lion over a lotus base, holding a PUBLISHED:
mongoose vomiting gems in his left hand, dressed in armor
secured with a belt above his rotund stomach, the face with Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24050
bulging eyes and bushy eyebrows surmounted by an ornate
headdress and framed by a billowing scarf Vaishravana is the Guardian of the Northern Direction and the king
7√ in. (20 cm.) high of the Yakshas, He is associated with the deity Kubera, and is also
worshipped as a God of wealth. Much like Kubera, he is shown
$30,000-40,000 holding his attribute of a mongoose, from which emanates a stream
of jewels, pearls or coins, symbolizing abundance.
82 THE SPORER COLLECTION OF HIMALAYAN SCULPTURE
For the iconographic prototypes of the present fgure, compare with
paintings of Vaishravana which became popular in central Tibet in
the 14th century, such as one from the Musée Guimet, exhibited
in Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet, Metropolitan
Museum of Art, New York, 1999, p.182, cat. no.52.