Page 40 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1017
A SILVER INLAID GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MANJUSHRI
CENTRAL TIBET, 15TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.24154
21.5 cm (8 1/2 in.) high

HKD1,200,000 - 1,600,000

藏中 十五世紀 銅錯銀鎏金文殊菩薩像

Depicting Manjushri, the Great Bodhisattva of Wisdom, the sculpture has been
embellished with a remarkable amount of silver inlay, accentuating every element
of jewelry. A silver-inlaid meditation band, incised with a diaper pattern, is slung
across his right shoulder and secured by a buckle and cloth ribbons falling across
his chest. Similar thick silver bands define his belt and lower garment in a manner
consistent with a c.1400 Avalokiteshvara sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2 October
2018, lot 43.

The treatment of Manjushri’s face, crown, armbands, and lotus pedestal is
redolent of and compares favorably to, the later phase of casting at Densatil
Monastery in the 15th century. For example, compare an early-15th-century
eight-armed goddess, sold at Hanhai, Beijing, October 2014, lot 3227, thought
to have been made for the Densatil stupa commemorating Paldan Zangpo
(1383- 1407) (Estournel, ‘About the 18 stupas and other treasures once at the
Densatil monastery’, www.asianart.com, 29 September 2020, fig.208). Estournel
suggests that by the early 15th-century casting at Densatil moved away from
heavily encrusted gem-set jewelry to a more naturalistic treatment of the figures.
Compared to the goddess, the present Manjushri has more delicate vestiture; an
apron across his lap and rear is modeled with soft, shallow folds, and his lower
garment is chased with a patchwork of auspicious symbols and over-sized floral
motifs.

The figure’s long face and broad forehead suggest the hand of a Newari master
craftsman. Newaris were responsible for producing Buddhist bronzes in Tibet of
the highest quality. Compare his features to a closely related figure of Vajrasattva
published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.II, Hong Kong,
2001, p.969, no.234B). An Amitayus attributed to the 16th century in the British
Museum has a similar crown, though less detailed and with less silver-inlaid jewelry
(1958,0719.1; von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.440,
no.118B).

Provenance
Private American Collection, by 1975
Christie’s, New York, 13 September 2016, lot 216

38 | BONHAMS