Page 73 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE NORTH AMERICAN COLLECTION
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A SMALL AND FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRABHAIRAVA The ferocious god Vajrabhairava is the wrathful form of Manjushri and
AND VAJRA VETALI a revered meditational deity in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism,
TIBETO-CHINESE, 18TH CENTURY the dominant religious power in Tibet in the seventeenth and eighteenth
4Ω in. (11.4 cm.) high centuries. Vajrabhairava also became a prominent Buddhist icon in China
under the Qing emperors, who maintained direct links with the dignitaries
$15,000-20,000
of the Gelugpa sect, including the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. This form of
PROVENANCE: Buddhism flourished within China under Qing rule, inspiring the construction
Private collection, New York, mid-1980s, by repute. of numerous temples in and around the capital of Beijing. In the eighteenth
century, the Qianlong Emperor promoted himself as a manifestation of
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24749. Manjushri, establishing his role as a spiritual and political leader. Images
of Vajrabhairava, therefore, carried both religious and political implications,
promoting Gelugpa spiritual practice while simultaneously endorsing the
中國 十八世紀 藏傳鎏金銅大威德金剛像 heavenly mandate of the Emperor.
來源: This small and finely-cast figure of Vajrabhairava is cleverly constructed in
私人珍藏, 紐約, 1980年代中期 (傳)
a few intricate pieces and expertly fitted together. Striding in alidhasana, he
出版: tramples on animals and prostrate figures including Shiva, Vishnu, Indra,
“喜馬拉雅藝術資源” (Himalayan Art Resources), 編號24749 Brahma, Kartika, Chandra, Surya and Ganesha, atop a lotus base. In his
primary hands he holds a curved knife and skull cup, while his outstretched
hands radiate around him. His central face is in the form of a ferocious buffalo,
with bulging eyes and flaming brows, and is flanked and surmounted by eight
additional faces. Vetali wraps her left leg around his waist, her fiery red hair
cascading down her back as she tilts her head back to meet her partner's
gaze. She too holds a skull cup in her left hand and a curved knife in her
right. The exquisite, detailed casting of the work indicate it was a product of
a master metalworker, and in all likelihood this work was cast in the imperial
workshops of Beijing or its environs. Compare with a slightly larger example
sold at Christie’s Paris, 13 June 2018, lot 217, which also shows the fine casting
and powerful modeling typical of the eighteenth-century imperial workshops.

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