Page 34 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

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A GILT COPPER LION THRONE STRUT Given the location of the projecting tang at the top of his head, this lion
NEPAL, CIRCA 14TH CENTURY would have likely supported a 13th-/14th-century image of Vasudhara
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4714 or the Buddha as a throne support, as seen in an example in the
10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.) high British Museum (1971,0925.1) and another image sold at Cornette de
Saint Cyr, Paris, 15 October, 2020, lot 60.
HKD50,000 - 70,000
Published
尼泊爾 約十四世紀 獅形寶座支柱 Nancy Tingley, Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California
Collections, Sacramento, 2012, p. 61, no. 12.
This gilt-bronze lion is presented with hieratic, powerful legs
accentuated by horizontal notches and a thick mane of cascading Exhibited
tresses. These features, which include independent triform tresses Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections, Crocker
at the shoulders, are shared by a seated lion vehicle of Manjuvara Art Museum, Sacramento, California, from 20 October 2012 to 10
dated to the 14th/15th centuries (von Schroder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, February 2013
1981, p. 361, no. 96B). His commanding presence is amplified by
bulging, rock crystal inset eyes and an inset necklace, suggesting its Provenance
importance as a commission. A close comparison of its form can be Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s
seen in a stone lion guarding the entrance to the Changu Narayan
temple in Kathmandu (Slusser, Mandala A Cultural Study of the
Kathmandu Valley, 1982, no. 47).

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