Page 87 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

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A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A KARMAPA LAMA
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 21269
36 cm (14 1/8 in.) high

HKD150,000 - 250,000
西藏 十六世紀 銅鎏金噶瑪巴像

This large gilt-bronze is crowned by a distinctive ‘black hat’ with
inverted flaps that identifies him as a Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu
school of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Dusum Kyenpa (1110-93),
the Karmapas were the first to establish a line of successive teachers
through reincarnation. Fated to become the next Buddha after
Maitreya, the Karmapa extends his right hand downward in the earth-
witnessing gesture, mirroring the historical Buddha’s enlightenment
beneath the Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya.

Compare the following work’s hat and robe, consisting of incised
flowers and honeycomb-like patterns, to two other gilt-bronze
Karmapas in Himalayan Art Resources (HAR 10759 & 202849). Also
compare with an image of the Third Karmapa (HAR 10706), whose
tall lotus base and bulky outer robe have much in common with the
present lot.

Provenance
Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s

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