Page 82 - Bonhams Presencer Buddhist Art Collection Oct. 2 2018

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A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF SHADBHUJA MAHAKALA
EARLY MING DYNASTY, 15TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61657
28 cm (11 in.) high

HK$250,000 - 350,000

明初 十五世紀 六臂大黑天銅像

Avalokiteshvara manifests as wrathful protector in the form of
Shadbhuja Mahakala (‘Six-armed Mahakala’). Mahakala is a category
of Tantric Buddhist deity who commonly functions as a protector of
the religion and its followers (Dharmapala). There are many different
iconographic forms of Mahakala, each is usually an emanation of
a principal meditational deity, such as Hevajra, Chakrasamvara, or
Guhyasamaja. In certain cases, however, Mahakala could also be a
yidam.

This six-armed form is the only Mahakala to arise from Avalokitshvara.
The protector deity’s practice was brought to Tibet by Khyungpo Naljor
(d.1127), founder of the Shangpa Kagyu School. Shadbhuja Mahakala
was first favored by the Kagyu, Sakya, and Jonang schools, and was
later adopted into the Gelug tradition.

Holding a ritual knife and a skull cup in his principal hands, this
commanding figure lunges to the right and stares fiercely at the viewer.
His formidable appearance is achieved by the skillful depiction of his
bulging eyes, flaming eyebrows, and bared fangs.

Stylistically, the sculpture is closely related to bronzes from the imperial
workshops of the Yongle and Xuande periods (1403-1435). The
beaded chains and tassels around his waist, for example, resemble
the aprons of two Yongle period bronzes formerly in the Speelman
collection, sold at Sotheby’s, Hong Kong, 7 October 2006, lots 810
and 814. Compare to another bronze figure of Shadbhuja Mahakala
sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 17 September 2014, lot 454. Also see
a two armed Mahakala sold at Christie’s, Hong Kong, 30 May 2018,
lot 2863, and a Ming Dynasty Guhyasadhana Dharmaraja published
in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001,
pp.1288-9, no.362C.

Provenance
Brooklyn Museum, New York, late 1960s/early 1970s
The Jack Zimmerman Collection, New York

80 | BONHAMS