Page 46 - Bonhams, Images of Devotion, April 21 2021

The teacher’s classic early-Kagyu vest and robe are meticulously worked with
raised silver- and copper-beaded hemlines and raised stitching. The meditation
cloak with stylized roundels of spirals and circling flames is also a common feature
in early portrait thangkas, including those of Dromton and a Kadam master
(Jackson, Mirror of the Buddha, New York, 2011, pp.71-3, figs.3.3&3.5). The
designs are modeled on highly treasured textiles imported from China, and here the
lateral cords in twisted silver and copper add refinement.

A very closely related example in both scale and volume is in the Tsuglakang
Temple, Tibet; in both sculptures, a smooth section of cloth over the figure’s right
breast contrasts with the detailed silver-and copper-inlaid patchwork robe (HAR
57366; von Schroeder, Buddhist Bronzes in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.1186-
7, no.320C). The bottom rim of the sculpture and baseplate underneath indicate
that this hierarch would have been set within a larger, separately cast throne, as is
evident from the back image of the Cleveland Phagmo Drupa referenced above.
This feature is also shared with other portraits dated to the 12th and 13th century
from the Tsuglakang Temple (HAR 57347 & HAR 57367).

Exhibited
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Rubin Museum of Art,
New York, 2 March 2012 – 11 February 2013.

Provenance
Ex-Nyingjei Lam Collection 菩薩道舊藏 (1990s-2010s)
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005–2018

44 | BONHAMS