Page 36 - Bonhams, Images of Devotion, April 21 2021

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A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID BRASS TRIAD OF AVALOKITESHVARA KHASARPANI
NORTHEASTERN INDIA, PALA PERIOD, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16978
14 cm (5 1/2 in.) high

HKD1,600,000 - 2,000,000

印度東北部 帕拉時期 約十二世紀 錯銀錯紅銅觀音銅像

An example of ingenious Pala iconography and craftsmanship, this charismatic triad
represents the central figure of Avalokiteshvara Khasarpani flanked by Sudhanakumara
and Hayagriva, with Suchimukha below. The triad sits on a trifurcated lotus rising from
a diamond-shaped pool of cosmic waters at the heart of a mandala represented by the
elaborate stepped base.

Seated in lalitasana, the posture of ‘royal ease’, Avalokiteshvara has been adorned with an
inlaid silver necklace and crown band, while his dhoti has embellished florets in silver and
copper inlay. To his right, Sudhanakumara is also seated in lalitasana with hands clasped,
greeting the viewer in anjali mudra. To his left, Hayagriva is shown in his slightly wrathful,
pot-bellied, yaksha appearance. All figures have been decorated with cold gold and
pigments consistent with worship in Tibet.

This representation of Avalokiteshvara Khasarpani, with one face and two hands, shows
the Great Bodhisattva of Compassion in his most benevolent form—one who would
even feed hungry ghosts. Poised on the platform below, the needle-nosed hungry ghost,
Suchimukha, reaches up to receive drops of nectar falling from Avalokiteshvara’s fingertips.
This narrative is extremely rare in Pala bronze sculpture, but more common in Khasarpani
stone steles, their size allowing for greater elaboration and detail. See a schist stele in the
Asia Society Museum, New York (1979.40), and another sold at Bonhams, New York, 17
March 2014, lot 92.

Representing one edge of a three-dimensional mandala, the front of the stepped and
waisted platform has an ornamental façade with flowers, cushion motifs, and geometric
patterns. The lower section features three expanding tiers, raised on projecting angular
feet. Compare the stepped base and trifurcated lotus with a slightly earlier 11th-century
Pala bronze triad in the Red Palace, Lhasa (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet,
Vol.1, 2001, pp.272-3, nos.88C-D, fig.1). Also compare the crowns, side ribbons, and
headdresses with another triad in the same repository (ibid, pp.270-1, no.87B).

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