Page 116 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

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A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF
TSONGKHAPA LOBSANG DRAKPA (1357-1419)
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY
7 in. (17.9 cm.) high

$30,000-50,000

PROVENANCE
The collection of Cheng Huan, SC, Hong Kong, 1990s, by repute.

Tsongkhapa, the fgure depicted here, is the fourteenth-century founder of the
Gelukpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. After practicing a bit of each tradition and
observing a dangerously loose application of the monastic code, Tsongkhapa
established a new tradition based on a set of regulations that emphasized
discipline and a regimented study of the sacred scriptures. The tradition came
to be known as the ‘Virtuous Tradition’ and rose to religious and political
preeminence in the seventeenth century, displacing the Sakya school as the
primary political force in Tibet. The Gelukpa school is that with which the
widely-infuential incarnation lineage of the Dalai Lama is associated.
Tsongkhapa’s iconography is standardized; he is always depicted with the
symbolic attributes of a sword and a religious text. Here he is depicted
in a richly-gilt bronze form, with lifelike hands held in dharmachakra
mudra, lotus stems rising at both shoulders, clad in heavy robes with
ornate incised textile patterns throughout. The large, curled lotus petals
surrounding the circular base are indicative of its sixteenth-century central
Tibetan origin.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24538.

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