Page 79 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

PROPERTY FROM THE YANG FAMILY COLLECTION
438
A SMALL BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRABHAIRAVA
TIBETO-CHINESE, 18TH CENTURY
4¬ in. (11.7 cm) high
$10,000-15,000
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, Hong Kong, 2015, by repute.

LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24753.
Vajrabhairava, one of the principal meditational deities of Tibetan Buddhism,
is the terrifying form of Manjushri, the God of Wisdom. Like Yamantaka, he
is a destroyer of death itself. His depictions vary from the highly complex
with multiple heads and arms to the very concise with a single face and two
arms. The present work shows him in embrace with Vajra Vetali, symbolizing
the dualistic totality encompassing compassion (embodied by the male) and
wisdom (associated with the female).
The cultural and artistic transmission between Tibet and the Qing court in
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries meant that a number of older, non-
gilt bronze images were gifted by Tibetan monasteries to Qing Buddhist
institutions in Beijing and its environs. The passion for archaism (the
production of new works in a consciously archaic style) in the court of the
Qianlong emperor resulted in a multitude of bronze images cast without
gilding in imitation of older bronzes. The present work, with a distinctly
worn patina, was likely cast in emulation of an older image, and its patina
was possibly induced to appear older. Such artistic decisions highlight the
appreciation for art and antiques in China in the eighteenth century.

中國 十八世紀 藏傳銅大威德金剛像
來源:
私人珍藏, 香港, 2015年 (傳)
出版:
“喜馬拉雅藝術資源” (Himalayan Art Resources), 編號24753

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