Page 36 - Bonhams March 22 2022 Indian and Himalayan Art NYC

310 W
A GILT COPPER ALLOY REPOUSSÉ RITUAL TRIPOD
DOLONNOR, QING DYNASTY, 18TH/19TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.4489
23 5/8 in. (60 cm) high
$15,000 - 20,000

多倫諾爾 清 十八/十九世紀 銅鎏金錘揲三足供架

Ritual stands such as this rare, large-scale example play an important role in tantric Buddhist
practices while creating a powerful visual image. Here the three struts are formed by
imaginative mythical beasts designed with a compilation of features that would enable them
to traverse water, land, and air. Each beast stands upright and alert on a short pair of legs and
talons gripping human skulls. Their elongated bodies with reptilian skin curl upwards before
emerging into an elaborate scrolling tail that supports a ring of three wrathful heads.

Offering stands are created for tantric ceremonies such as the long-life ritual or initiation ritual,
and are often placed in the center of a sand mandala while supporting a large vase or an
offering bowl. A 19th-century thangka of Namkhai Nyingpo preserved at the Rubin Museum of
Art, New York (C2006.66.20) clearly illustrates one such ritual: the 8th-century master is shown
at the center of the composition performing a longevity ritual. To his right is a large ceremonial
stage featuring a mandala, upon which a tripod stand has been placed to support a long-life
vase decorated with peacock feathers. An assembly of immortality deities is invoked in the
ritual and emanates out of the vase.

Compare the treatment of the heads – particularly the broad beak-like nose, the deeply
furrowed forehead, and the even parting of the hair – to a repoussé figure of Mahakala from
Dolonnor formerly in the Maitri Collection (Bonhams, New York, 20 March 2018, lot 3215). Also
compare with a singular repoussé dragon figure sold Bonhams, London, 7 November 2019,
lot 16 and a Dolonnor Makaramukha sold Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3053. Also
see a much smaller Yongle-period tripod stand with similar formation, likely used to support a
conch shell or a kapala on an altar table, sold at Christie’s, Hong Kong, 30 May 2017, lot 2806.

Provenance:
Estate of Major E.G. Byers, acquired in China around 1920
Private Georgia Collection

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