Page 15 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A PAIR OF GILT COPPER ALLOY MONGOOSES A SILVER INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE
TIBET, 19TH/20TH CENTURY OF KALAJAMBHALA
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61701 TIBET, 12TH CENTURY
Each 16 cm (6 1/4 in.) long Himalayan Art Resources item no.61646
9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.) high
HK$40,000 - 60,000
HK$35,000 - 45,000
西藏 十九/二十世紀 銅鎏金吐寶鼠一對
西藏 十二世纪 銅錯銀黑財神像
Looking at the pair, one realizes mongooses are not native to Tibet.
However, the gilded sculptures are also testament to the conservative Jambhala is a popular Buddhist wealth deity who dispenses
approach Tibetans took in preserving core Indian Buddhist teachings prosperity. He represents the Buddhist absorption of Kubera, the
and iconography. The wealth deities Jambhala and Vaishravana ancient Indian god of wealth and king of nature spirits (yakshas).
squeeze such mythic mongooses that spit out gems. These bronzes This black (kala) form of Jambhala was popularized in Tibet by Bari
would have likely served as part of a set of paired auspicious Buddhist Lotsawa (b.1040). Small sculptures, such as the present, are used
creatures. in rituals by monks to ensure their sustenance so that they can keep
focused on their training. Compare with a similar bronze published
Provenance in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.172,
Robert Bouatta, London, 2005 no.30B.

Provenance
Prof. Don Handelman, 2008

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