Page 26 - Indian and Himalayan Art, March 15, 2017 Sotheby's NYC

216 This charismatic work depicts the legendary Indian pandita
Padmasambhava, known as Guru Rinpoche to Tibetans.
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE SWISS COLLECTION Padmasambhava is recognizable by the iconic peaked Indian
cap of a pandita, surmounted with feathers and adorned with
A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF a sun and moon, as well as his furrowed brow and the wide,
PADMASAMBHAVA almond-shaped eyes which set him apart as a foreigner. He
Tibet, 15th Century hold a vajra in his raised right hand, a kapala in the left hand.
His ears are adorned with disk-shaped earrings with a foliate
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13394. motif, and he wears richly embroidered inner and outer
Height: 11 in. (27.9 cm) patchwork robes, and pointed Tibetan-style boots.

PROVENANCE Known by many di erent names which re ect his multiple
Acquired privately, Switzerland, 1970s. forms, Padmasambhava is credited with establishing
Buddhism in Tibet. In the eighth century, the Indian abbot
$ 100,000-150,000 Shantarakshita and the Tibetan chögyal or dharma king
Trisong Detsen invited the tantrika Padmasambhava to make
the arduous journey to Tibet.

Along the way, he encountered and subdued the many local
spirits, gods and goddesses and bound them by oath as sworn
protectors and protectresses of Buddhism in Tibet. Upon
his arrival in Ü province, Padmasambhava subdued the local
spirits hindering the contruction of Tibet’s rst monastery,
Samye.

Compare a circa 15th century Padmasambhava formerly in
the Blanche C. Olschak Collection, see U. von Schroeder,
Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 449, pl. 122C, and
compare pedestal design with circa fteenth century gilt-
copper statues portraying Shadakshari Lokeshvara and a lama,
ibid., p. 449, pls. 122G-H.

Compare also another circa fteenth century gilt-copper
Padmasambhava in the Victoria and Albert Museum, collected
in Shigatse in 1914, that is similarly cast separately to its lotus
base, Victoria and Albert Museum acc. no. IM.240-1922.

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