Page 209 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

This finely cast gilt-bronze figure of the bodhisattva Vajrapani, Vajrapani is more typically shown in a wrathful form and
the ‘Vajra Holder’, represents a group of Buddhist figures known as Guhyapati - ‘the Lord of Secrets.’ He is said to be the
made on the orders of the Imperial Court in China during the main recipient, holder, and protector of all the Tantra texts,
first half of the 15th century that displayed a style influenced literature, and teachings received from Shakyamuni Buddha.
by the art of Tibet. According to Ulrich von Schroeder in From the model of the Lower Tantras, Vajrapani symbolizes
Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, vol. II, pp the body of all Buddhas of the ten directions and represents
1237-91, fifty-four Da Ming Yongle nian zhi works have been enlightened activity. Vajrapani is a meditational deity, and
documented in Tibetan monastery collections, most of which considered a Buddha, with numerous forms found in all of the
are held in Potala Palace, Tibet. During the Yuan dynasty, the four levels of Tantra classification and popular in all traditions
authority of Mongol rulers had become closely associated of Tibetan Buddhism—new and old.
with the Tibetan Buddhist hierarchy and, as a result, in
their religious practice closely followed Tibetan rituals and For two closely related Yongle gilt-bronze figures of Vajrapani
ceremonies. The close link between the Ming government of the same size in the collection of the Potala Palace, Lhasa,
and the Tibetan Lamas continued in the fifteenth century and see Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong
prevailed in works such as the present figure. Missions to Kong, 2001, vol. II, p. 1256-7, pl. 346A-C. Other examples
Tibet were carried out which sought to maintain good relations include one from the Berti Aschmann Collection in the
with the Tibetan Lamas, and images such as this figure were Museum Rietberg, illustrated in Helmut Uhlig, On the Path to
exchanged as gifts. Enlightenment: The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan
Art at the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, 1995, pp. 106-107, pl.
In the Mahayana Buddhist tradition, Vajrapani is one of the 59 (fig. 1), and another illustrated in Buddhist Images in Gilt
eight heart-sons of Shakyamuni Buddha, portrayed in a Metal, Chang Foundation, Taipei, 1993, cat. no. 65.
peaceful appearance. In the Vajrayana tradition, however,

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