Page 26 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1011
A GILT COPPER ALLOY ENSHRINED BUDDHA
NEPAL, 14TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16907
15 cm (5 7/8 in.) high

HKD1,600,000 - 2,400,000

尼泊爾 十四世紀 銅鎏金佛陀像

This rare, complete miniature shrine depicts Shakyamuni with an alms bowl
flanked by Manjushri and Avalokiteshvara, the Great Bodhisattvas of Wisdom and
Compassion. The small vajra placed before Shakyamuni’s ankles on top of the
lotus base makes mnemonic reference to the enshrined ‘vajra seat’ (vajrasana) at
Bodh Gaya in Northeastern Indian, upon which Buddha achieved enlightenment.
Garuda is in full flight at the crest of the prabhamandala, flanked by animated
nagas who ride on the exuberant swirling elements issued from the howling
makaras. The thriving arrangement recalls the Earth flourishing in response to
Shakyamuni’s request to bear witness to his enlightenment. Within the pedestal
supporting the lotus throne below, a pair of lions guard a generative triratna
representing the Three Jewels of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the
Sangha (monastic community).

Buddha’s robust and rounded form, as he is depicted in this shrine, follows the
classic Newari aesthetic of the Kathmandu Valley in the 13th/14th century, which
was also adopted by the neighboring Khasa Malla kingdom ruling the Karnali Basin
of western Nepal and western Tibet. Buddha’s throne back is decorated with a
‘rice-grain’ pattern that is not exclusive to, but frequently depicted in Khasa Malla
bronzes. For example, compare a large enshrined Buddha with a Khasa Malla
inscription in a private collection (Wang et. al. The Light of Buddha, Beijing, 2019,
p.269, no.066). In the present sculpture, the rice-grain pattern also appears on the
sides of the waisted pedestal, stippled like the floral medallions across its foot.

It is extremely rare to find Tibetan or Nepalese bronzes of Buddha (or any
deity for that matter) with their original shrines, but there are a few, roughly
contemporaneous examples with which to compare. A small 13th-century shrine
of Uma-Mahesvara (18 cm) is in the Museum of Fine Art, Boston (von Schroeder,
Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.347, no.89F). A 14th-/15th-century
Shadakshari Mahavidya (17 cm) formerly in the Heeramaneck Collection retains
its prabhamandala (Kramrisch, The Art of Nepal, Vienna, 1964, p.136, no.42).
And, a larger 14th-century Buddha, backed by a closely related prabhamandala,
is in Shalu, Tibet (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.1, Hong
Kong, p.962, no.231A), while another is photographed in front of a fragmented
prabhamandala in the western Nepalese monastery of Yang-tsher (von Schroeder,
op. cit., 1981, p.339).

Provenance
The Nyingjei Lam Collection, acquired in the 1980s
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2013-2018 (L2013.2.1)

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