Page 46 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A GILT COPPER ALLOY VAJRA After the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, early Ming emperors continued
MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY patronage of Tibetan Buddism. The Yongle Emporer (r.1403-1424)
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61682 invited the Fifth Karmapa Deshin Shekpa (1384-1415) to Beijing. The
18.5 cm (7 1/4 in.) long Ming Imperial Court Record (Zhuo Zhong Zhi) by Liu Ruoyu, mentions
the production of Buddhist ritual objects at imperial workshops.
HK$35,000 - 45,000 This vajra’s style, rich gilding, and soft almond-colored alloy are
characteristics developed during the Yongle reign. Compare with a
closely related Yongle-marked example in the Beijing Palace Museum,
明朝 十五世紀 銅鎏金金剛杵 illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism, Hong Kong, 1992,
pl.131-1. Also see another unmarked example in Art Sacré du Tibet:
Finely cast with four prongs at each end converging from the jaws of Collection Alain Bordier, Paris, 2013, p.221, no.115.
makara on the central axis. The ends emerge from elegant lotuses on
either side of the central orb. Provenance
Private European Collection, 1970s/80s

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