Page 32 - Indian and Himalayan Art, March 15, 2017 Sotheby's NYC

The current work is a very rare silver gure depicting the
sixth Shamarpa Chökyi Wangchuk (1584—1630). Exquisitely
modeled and elegantly cast, Chökyi Wangchuk is identi able
by the iconic headdress from which the Shamar or Red Hat
lineage derives its name. The rst Shamar tulku, Kedrub
Dragpa Sengge, was recognized by the third Karmapa
Rangjung Dorje in 1283, and presented with a red replica of
the unique, double-peaked black hat for which the Karmapa
was known. From this point the incarnation lineage of Kedrub
Dragpa Sengge was known as the Red Hat or Shamar lineage.
The double-peaked headdress of Chökyi Wangchuk is
adorned at center with a vishvavajra surmounted by a sun and
crescent moon. On either peak of the headdress are scrolling
cloud motifs. Chökyi Wangchuk is seated crosslegged on
a rectangular plinth covered in four layers of cloth or rugs.
He wears the robes of a monk, arranged and draped with
precision: the dhonka or cap-sleeved shirt; the shemdap or
long skirt folded at the upper waist; the patchwork chogu worn
on top of the dhonka and draped over the left shoulder; and the
zhen or heavy outer robe, depicted here slung low around the
waist, the fabric gathered around the legs in graceful pleats. He by the hand of sixth Shamarpa. Per Uebach and Panglung,
hold a bumpa or vase in the left hand lowered at his lap, with
the right hand raised in dharmachakra mudra or the gesture of
teaching.
On the back of the plinth upon which the Shamarpa is seated is
a Tibetan inscription which has been translated by H. Uebach
and J. L. Panglung as follows:
Reverence to the portrait of the Gyalwa [Shamarpa], the sixth
bearer of the head ornament, the Red Hat, the glorious Garchen
Chökyi Wangchuk, the statue blessed by the lord himself with
[grains of] barley.
Below this inscription, on the lower right, is a further
annotation of the weight of the sculpture, which has been
translated as: 26 ½ sang [i.e. of silver alloy]. A sang was a
Tibetan unit used to measure weight, particularly gold and
silver, and was equivalent to the Chinese liang.
Silver sculpture in Tibetan antiquity was created at great
expense and as such, was signi cantly less common than
casting in bronze. Based on published examples of Tibetan
silver sculpture in private collections and public collections,
silver appears to have been a favored medium of the
Shamarpa and Karmapa lineages; compare the drapery of
the robes, the seated position, and the rectangular plinth with
identifying verso inscription of the current work with another
silver gure of similar size depicting the eighth Karmapa Mikyo
Dorje, see D. Weldon and J. Casey, The Sculptural Heritage of
Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, 1999, pp.
188-189, pl. 48.
30 SOTHEBY’S
Based upon the above inscription, it can be inferred that the
current work was created in the early seventeenth century
before 1630, the year in which Chökyi Wangchuk passed away,
as the inscription notes that the sculpture was personally
blessed by Chökyi Wangchuk with traditional grains of barley.
The current work also shares many similar characteristics
to another silver sculpture from the Jokhang/Tsuglakhang
collection in Lhasa, depicting the sixth Shamarpa Chökyi
Wangchuk, see U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet,
Vol. II, Tibet and China, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 1218, pl. 336A-C.
Both sculptures are approximately the same size, and share
similar architecture, proportion and style. In both works, the
Shamar is seated upon a low, rectangular platform covered by
several layers of cloth. Of particular note on the verso of each
sculpture is the similarity of the unique crescent-shaped upper
robes, the pleats of both which cascade down and upon the
platform base.
The inscriptions at the verso of each sculpture, incised on
the platform verso, both note that each work was blessed
the biography of the sixth Shamarpa references a number of
sculptures made in his likeness which were consecrated by
the lama himself. While it is not possible to determine whether
either of these sculptures are those which were referenced
in the biography of Chökyi Wangchuk, we do know that the
practice of consecrating images in his likeness as described in
the Shamar hagiography supports the inscriptions.
The tulkus of the Shamarpa and Karmapa lineages have had a
historical relationship of spiritual mentorship and reciprocity
since the late thirteenth century. Like his spiritual disciple
the tenth Karmapa Chöying Dorje (see lot lots 222 and 223),
Chökyi Wangchuk was also a painter and sculptor, and his
biography cites numerous works of art which he created
throughout his travels across Tibet, India and Nepal in his
short lifetime. For a detailed discussion on the artistic training
and accomplishments of both the sixth Shamarpa and tenth
Karmapa, see K. Debreczeny, The Black Hat Eccentric: Artistic
Visions of the Tenth Karmapa, New York, 2012, pp. 67-69.