Page 77 - September 20th 2021, Indian and Himalayan Art Christie's NYC

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A LARGE GILT-COPPER FIGURE OF VAJRADHARA 尼泊爾 卡薩馬拉王朝 十三/十四世紀 鎏金銅金剛總持坐像
NEPAL, KHASA MALLA KINGDOM, 13TH-14TH CENTURY
來源:
11º in. (28.6 cm.) high 私人珍藏，入藏於香港，1990年5月23日。
$100,000-150,000
PROVENANCE:
Private collection, acquired in Hong Kong, 23 May 1990.
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24688.

This large and impressive figure of the primordial buddha, Vajradhara,
displays characteristics of both Nepalese and Tibetan bronze imagery,
and illustrates the confluence of styles present in the regions of western
Nepal and Tibet that formed the kingdom of the Khasa Mallas.

The figure sits upright with his legs in dhyanasana and his arms crossed
in front of his chest, holding the vajra and ghanta. The joints of each
finger are delineated through incised lines, a characteristic common to
bronzes associated with the Khasa Malla kingdom. The figure is adorned
with various beaded jewelry, including a double-stranded beaded
necklace with three foliate pendants that accentuates the broad neck
with its horizontal lines echoing the physical traits of the Buddha; this
representation of the neck resembles images associated with the Khasa
Malla style, including a gilt-copper figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara,
illustrated by I. Alsop in “The Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Mallas of
West Nepal/West Tibet,” Orientations, Hong Kong, June 1994, fig. 9.
Other aspects that can be compared between the two figures include
the facial features that are delineated with raised casting, and the
somewhat stylized, almost horizontal rendering of the ears. The reverse
of the bronze also bears applied red pigments, particularly at the back of
the base, a feature common to bronzes from the Khasa Malla kingdom.
The present bronze does display certain idiosyncratic features which
cannot be definitively associated with any particular style or kingdom.
One such feature is the representation of the terminals of the beaded
jewelry, including at both shoulders and resting on the top of the
base between the ankles; the bead chain splits into a V-shape, with
the interior edge rendered with a scalloped form. Another feature is
the symbol at the front of the base, ‘attached’ to the front edge of the
base with a beaded chain. The symbol is formed with a crescent shape
topped with a tear-drop. The exact meaning of the symbol is unclear,
although it might possibly represent a form of offering to the deity a
stylized lit butter lamp.