Page 72 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A GILT COPPER FIGURE OF TARA
NEPAL, 15TH/16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61627
28 cm (11 in.) high

HK$500,000 - 800,000

尼泊爾 十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金度母像

Tara takes on many manifestations, offering various forms of grace to
Buddhist devotees. In her most popular forms, she alleviates fears,
prolongs life, and empowers practitioners. Some traditions regard
Tara as a manifestation of Avalokiteshvara’s compassion. Various
touching origin myths speak of Tara arising from his heart, or arising
from a tear he shed for mankind’s suffering, etc. In other traditions
Tara is a counterpart to Avalokiteshvara, regarded as an enlightened
female Buddha. She is also regarded as a meditational deity (yidam),
practiced in all schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Such is her popularity.

This delightful gilded copper sculpture of Tara follows a conservative
tradition in Nepal of depicting goddesses standing with the left knee
slightly flexed. Her pose and garments add movement as the eye
travels upward. Her body’s sensuous modeling and the floral imagery
across her thighs emphasize her youthful femininity. Her hands are
perfectly poised. Lotuses arising from their mudras boldly blossom by
her shoulders. Finally, her enthused smile holds the viewer’s gaze.

The sculpture’s crown and jewelry are closely related to that of a
15th-century bronze Padmapani in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(see von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.362,
no.97A). Also compare the sashes to that of a Vasudhara (ibid.,
pp.366-7, no.99I).

Provenance
Oriental Antiquities, London, 1968

70 | BONHAMS