Page 112 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ASIAN COLLECTION
352
A SILVER- AND COPPER-INLAID FIGURE OF
LOWO KENCHEN SONAM LHUNDRUP (CIRCA 1441-1532)
CENRAL TIBET, TSANG ATELIER, 16TH CENTURY
6√ in. (17.5 cm.) high

$30,000-50,000

PROVENANCE
Sotheby’s New York, 20 November 1994, lot 203.
Portraits of the Masters: 108 Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist
Lineages; Bonhams New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3276.
LITERATURE
R.N. Prats and E. Lo Bue, Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet : Exposició, Barcelona,
2000, p. 205, no. 171.
H. Stoddard and D. Dinwiddie, Portraits of the Masters: Bronze Sculptures of
the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages, Chicago, 2003, pp. 270-1, no. 76.

This bronze portrait depicts the great ffteenth-sixteenth century Sakya
abbot of Lo Manthang in Mustang (Western Nepal), Lowo Khenchen Sonam
Lhundrub. The lama’s square face, ornamentation, proportions, and style of
tightly-rendered lotus-petals with bead-like tips is one that is often attributed
to an atelier in South-central Tibet (Tsang Province). The silver-inlaid eyes
enliven his serene expression, and the delicately incised details on the hat
and robes demonstrate the artist’s careful attention to detail. An extensive
inscription encircles the bottom of the base and translates as:

Homage to Jamyang Sonam Lhundrup! I, the fully ordained monk, Sonam
Pelzang, along with my entourage, prostrate and take refuge. May he take us
under his benevolent care. Auspiciousness!
See D. Snellgrove, Four Lamas of Dolpo, vol. I, Cambridge, 1967 for an in-depth
biography of this important fgure.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 2332.

H. Stoddard and D. Dinwiddie, Portraits of the Masters: Bronze Sculptures of R.N. Prats and E. Lo Bue, Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet : Exposició, Barcelona,
the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages, Chicago, 2003, cover and p. 270. 2000, cover and p. 205.
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