Page 157 - Fine Chinese Art Bonhams London May 2018

Empowered with great dignity and reverential demeanour, conveyed Ngawang Gyatso was a highly influential figure, particularly among
by the sturdy mass of his body and the elegance of his drapery folds, the Geluk and Nyngma orders of Tibetan Buddhism. Following his
characterised by sleek movements and crinkled creases, the present appointment as the supreme spiritual teacher and secular ruler of
figure may be identified as the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Losang Tibet at the young age of twenty-five, the lama began construction of
Gyatso (b.1617). The distinctive facial figures, such as the pointed the Potala palace in Lhasa in the iconic form as it still stands today.
chin, the long and sharp nose and closely set walnut-shaped eyes, Resting on his lap, his left hand probably once held the Wheel of
closely resemble the elements characterising a gilt-bronze portrait of Teaching and royal rule.
the Fifth Dalai Lama, late 17th century, included in the collection of
the Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Massachussets, illustrated Compare with a similarly treated, albeit smaller and inscribed, gilt-
by M.M.Rhie, Wisdom and Compassion. The Sacred Art of Tibet, bronze figure of the Fifth Dalai Lama,17th century, which was sold at
London, 1991, pp.272-273, no.98. Sotheby’s, 13-14 September 2016, lot 161.

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