Page 18 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art September 2013
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A thangka of three tathagatas A inlaid copper alloy figure of Vajradhara
Tibet, 15th/16th century Tibet, 16th/17th century
Distemper on cloth; with Vairocana, Seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus base with his arms in vajrahumkara mudra (highest energy)
Akshobhya and Ratnasambhava seated on holding the vajra and ghanta, clad in a dhoti and a shawl draped over his shoulders with jointed
platforms protected by their corresponding hems extending from his elbows, adorned with a belt and necklaces of bead and pendant swags,
animals: the snow lion, horse and elephant, anklets, bracelets, and circular lotus earrings, his steadfast expression with lips and eyes of inlaid
with diminutive bodhisattvas flanking copper and silver and an urna of inset turquoise, his hair pulled into a high chignon secured with a
each figure and rows of seated tathagatas five-leaf tiara and surmounted by a half vajra; a lengthy inscription runs along the base:
occupying the upper corners, a diminutive
Milarepa seated in a cave at the center. chos sku rdo rje ‘chang gi sku |
21 x 16 7/8 in. (53.3 x 42.9 cm) mthong ba don ldan ‘di nying ni |
$15,000 - 25,000 skyabs mgon byams pa’i mtshan can gyi ||
nad sten dgos ‘dod kun ‘byung du ||
Compare face and crown type with a single lhag bsams rnam dag sgo nas ni ||
figure thangka of Shadaksari formerly in the bsgrub sde chen mo’i bzhengs pa yis ||
Jucker Collection, see Kreijger, Tibetan Painting, dge bas mkha snyams sems can rnams ||
Boston, 2001, p. 48, no. 10. sgrib sbyangs tshogs rdzogs sangs rgyas shog ||
dge’o bkra shi ||
“May this body (statue) of the Dharmakaya Vajradhara, meaningful to behold, erected as the great
center [of] accomplishments, in fulfillment of all the wishes and desires of the lord protector (His
Eminence) whose name is endowed with Maitreya’s appellation, and the virtue of [this act] purify all
obscurations and perfect all accumulations [of merit] so the living beings equal [in number] to the
[limitless] sky become Buddhas. Virtue and Happiness!”
23 in. (58.3 cm) high
$35,000 - 45,000
A Vajradhara of similar size, age and proportions was sold at Christie’s, Paris, 14 December 2011,
lot 1052, and appears on the front cover of Xu Tianfu (ed.), Faces of Dharma, Taipei, 2012. Also
compare the splayed sash with that on another bronze sold in the aforementioned sale, lot 186.
Bonhams is grateful to Dr Elena Pakhoutova for her assistance in translation of the inscription.
16 | Bonhams
