Page 126 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

PROPERTY FROM A PROMINENT EAST COAST COLLECTION
446
A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A LAMA
TIBET, 14TH-15TH CENTURY
8Ω in. (21.6 cm.) high
$150,000-200,000
PROVENANCE:
Sotheby’s New York, 26 March 1998, lot 104.
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24644.

西藏 十四/十五世紀 鎏金銅喇嘛坐像
來源:
紐約蘇富比，1998年3月26日，拍品104。
出版:
“喜馬拉雅藝術資源”（Himalayan Art Resources），編號24644。

Brimming with exuberant presence, the present work is a masterpiece of Tibetan
portrait sculpture. Likely depicting an early teacher or lama of the Kagyu order,
the work perfectly captures the spiritual enlightenment of its subject. The
teacher sits in vajrasana with his left hand hovering above his lap in meditation.
His right hand is raised, with his index finger pressed to his thumb, in a gesture
of teaching. The hand gesture is said to mimic the appearance of the spouted
initiation vessel holding a peacock feather used in tantric practice; in this case,
the index finger and thumb mirror the spout of the vase, and the three extended
fingers resemble the vanes of the peacock feather.
The lama is dressed in a sleeveless monastic shirt in the style of a nun’s vest, and
is cloaked in a heavy sitting robe, which extends from the shoulders over the legs
and is tucked in under the ankles. The hems of both the shirt and the sitting robe
are picked out with light stippling, in imitation of stitch-work. The sitting robe is
cinched at the top of the back, and superficial incised lines indicate the vertical
folds at front and back.

Although the identity of the subject is unknown, the sensitively rendered
facial features with benevolent expression and slight tilt of the head, and the
articulated hairline, suggest this is a portrait of a historical lama rather than
an idealized monk. Certain elements such as the slightly elongated earlobes
and the three horizontal lines on the neck mimic physical traits of the Buddha
Shakyamuni, and imply a sense of heightened enlightenment. The simple dress,
and lack of hand-held implements or a hat, make the figure’s attribution of a
Kagyu lama more likely, in contrast to images of Sakya figures who were more
often elaborately represented.