Page 33 - September 20th 2021, Indian and Himalayan Art Christie's NYC

A RARE AND IMPORTANT BRONZE
FIGURE OF LUIPA

This finely-cast and important bronze is likely to belong to a larger set and the Krishnacharya bronzes) or a single beaded pendant (in the
of bronzes depicting the Chakrasamvara lineage of the Sakya tradition case of the Jalandhara and Luipa). The necklace on each figure
of the Ngor Ewam monastery. The entire set was once contained within consists of the eight rectangular bone ornaments of a Heruka deity,
Ngor monastery, but was partially dispersed in the twentieth century. joined by a double strand of beads. At the waist, the short dhoti is
Bronzes from the set are distinguished by the treatment of the jewelry, secured with an elaborate knot, particularly in the standing image of
facial features, and the double-lotus base, as well as the consistent Jalandhara, where it billows down from his waist, but is also elegantly
location of dedicatory inscriptions, and the group has been dated by knotted in the images of Shavaripa and the present image of Luipa.
U. von Schroeder in his discussion of the group in Buddhist Sculptures
in Tibet, vol. II, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 1206, to the late fifteenth or early Certain characteristics of the face are found across all five images,
sixteenth century. Four other bronzes from the set are held in Western adding a sense of coherence across the entire group. The mouth is
collections: a bronze figure of Vijayapada in the Frey Collection in typically held open in a slight smile, the tongue raised as if in speech
Zurich, illustrated by R. Linrothe in Holy Madness: Portraits of Tantric and the teeth delineated, and in the case of the Jalandhara and
Siddhas, New York, 2006, p. 339, cat. no. 70; an image of Shavaripa Shavaripa, picked out in white polychromy. The heavily-lidded eyes
in the Katimari Collection, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources are depicted with an expressive gaze, the pupils incised and the sclera
(item no. 59531); a bronze figure of Krishnacharya in the collection again indicated with white polychromy – remaining in this case on the
of the Museum der Kulturen in Basel (acc. no. #W.lld13999.R0089), present work. The images of Luipa, Krishnacharya, Jalandhara and
illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources (item no. 3313999) and by U. Shavaripa are cast with a short, triangular beard which juts out below
von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pp. 480-481, the chin, and which is incised with vertical lines delineating the hair.
pl. 134E; and a bronze figure of Jalandhara in the collection of the Rubin
Museum of Art (acc. no. C2003.13.4), illustrated as fig. 1. Luipa is the The base of the four figures is composed of two rows of wide lotus
sixth lineage figure from the Ngor Ewam set, and as such would have petals between beaded rims at top and bottom. In the case of the
come directly after the image of Shavaripa from the Katimari Collection. Luipa, both beaded rims but particularly the top, have been worn
The whereabouts of nine bronzes from the lineage, including the image to such a degree that they appear plain – however, close inspection
of Luipa, had previously been unaccounted for until the reappearance of reveals they were once indeed beaded. Close inspection of the Luipa
this work to the market. also reveals a short inscription at the top of the base in front of Luipa’s
proper right foot, as well as a longer inscription running alongside the
Each of the figures in the set is adorned with a beaded harness that is lower edge of the base. Such inscriptions are typical of the lineage set,
joined at the center of the torso with a rhomboid shaped fitting, from and can be in almost identical locations on all of the known bronzes
which hang either three beaded pendants (in the case of the Shavaripa from the set.