Page 35 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A COPPER ALLOY VAJRA-RING A GILT COPPER ALLOY VAJRA
YUNNAN, DALI KINGDOM, 12TH CENTURY TIBET, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61677 Himalayan Art Resources item no.61686
7.5 cm (3 in.) long 18 cm (7 in.) long

HK$40,000 - 60,000 HK$40,000 - 60,000

雲南 大理國 十二世紀 銅金剛杵指環 西藏 約十六世紀 銅鎏金金剛杵

The vajra is the eponymous symbol of Vajrayana Buddhism, yet it has Variously translated as a ‘thunderbolt’, ‘diamond scepter’, or
a mysterious application as a ring in the Dali kingdom of Southern ‘adamantine scepter’, the vajra’s symbolism in Vajrayana Buddhism
China. A unique form of Tantric Buddhism developed under the seems endless. Referred to within the name of Shakyamuni’s seat
successive Nanzhao and Dali kingdoms of Yunnan province (8th-13th of enlightenment (vajrasana), the vajra is symbolic of the immutable
centuries), acclimatizing esoteric doctrines from the Tang empire and quality of the spiritual truth he unveiled. As a ritual implement in Tibet,
Pala kingdom. An almost identical example, with makara flanking the a vajra most commonly appears with five-prongs, such as the present
ring’s setting, was discovered at Qianxun Pagoda, published alongside example. This gilded vajra’s style is likely derivate of a type developed
others in Reitberg, Der Goldschatz Der Drei Pagoden, Zurich, 1991, by early Ming imperial workshops in the 15th century, but has
p.218, no.77; and see Chu, Art of Nanzhao-Dali Kingdom, Yunnan, more slender petals indicating a date from the subsequent century.
1992, p.49, no.90. Compare with a closely related example sold at Christie’s, New York,
22 March 2013, lot 1253.
Provenance
Jimmy McMullan, Obelisk Gallery, London, late 1960s Provenance
Private European Collection, 1970s/80s

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