Page 18 - Christies March 14 2017 Tibetan Bronzes NYC

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A GROUP OF SEVEN GILT BRONZE
BARDO DEITIES
TIBET, 17TH CENTURY
6 in. (15.5 cm.) high, the largest

$50,000-70,000

PROVENANCE

Private Collection, Italy, acquired by 1995.
Acquired by the current owner from Christie’s New York,
21 September 2007, lot 160.

PUBLISHED

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org),
item no.35862

西藏 十七世紀 鎏金銅中有神像七件

According to Buddhist scripture, the bardo is a realm or intermediate
state between death and rebirth where one’s consciousness experiences
vivid phenomena, including horrifying imagery related to negative
karmic debts. For those with proper Buddhist training, this stage can
provide great opportunity for liberation, allowing them to overcome
illusion and worldly attachment. Animal-headed deities who inhabit
the bardo realms are typically depicted in painting. Few sculptural
examples are known, making the present group particularly rare. For
painted examples of bardo fgures, see a ffteenth century illustrated
text in the Rubin Museum of Art which shows numerous forms of bardo
deities, many of which directly relate to the present example (RMA
acc.# F1998.16.5). A single bardo fgure from the Sporer Collection,
possibly related to the present group, sold at Christie’s New York on 15
September 2015 for $12,500 (lot 22).

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