Page 58 - 2020 December 2 Bonhams Arts of Devotion bronzes and Stone carvings

1027
A SILVER FIGURE OF WHITE TARA
QING DYNASTY, INNER OR OUTER MONGOLIA, 17TH/18TH CENTURY
With polychrome decoration and separately cast gold jewelry with inset turquoise.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61744
11.1 cm (4 3/8 in.) high

HKD600,000 - 800,000

清 內/外蒙古 十七/十八世紀 白度母銀像

Representing a high point in Qing artistic achievement, this silver sculpture of Tara
is superbly modeled and luxuriously adorned, which suggests a special patron. The
separately cast gold bracelets and the oversized gold necklace with inset turquoise
are rare features only shared with a handful of sculptures, including a Mahakala
in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.456, no.126A; a
closely related figure of Ushnishavijaya, see Beijing Hanhai, 26 October 2014, lot
4493; and a figure of Avalokiteshvara sold at Christie’s, New York, 15 September
2015, lot 15.

The distinctive oval face can be compared with two parcel-gilt silver sculptures of
Tara. One is in the John D. Rockefeller III Collection (Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and
Compassion, New York, 2001, fig.26). The other is in private hands (Heller, Tibetan
Buddhist Art, Beijing, 2008, p.228, figs.4-16).

The delightfully painted textiles are unusual for metal sculpture in general, but
favored in Mongolia in the 18th and 19th century; see a copper alloy figure of White
Mahakala in the Jacques Marchais Museum (Lipton, Treasures of Tibetan Art, New
York, 1996, p.167, no.88). The designs imitate Chinese silks and draw similarities
with depictions of White Tara in Eastern Tibetan thangkas, such as one in the
Rubin Museum of Art (HAR 997). While the broad, almost rectangular lotus petals
follow a style that was prevalent in Dolonnor, there are no direct comparisons, and
the deeply inset consecration plate suggests that the figure was mounted to a
larger shrine.

Provenance
Benny Rustenburg, Hong Kong, 10 September 2004
Private European Collection

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