Page 138 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE GERMAN COLLECTION
371
A RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF BUDDHA RATNASAMBHAVA
NEPAL, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
18¿ in. (45.9 cm.) high

$400,000-600,000

PROVENANCE
Private collection, Germany, by 1973; thence by descent.
At frst glance, this magnifcent gilt-bronze fgure may seem to depict the
historical Buddha Shakyamuni. However, the right hand turned towards the
observer in the gesture of granting wish or varadamudra identifes this fgure as
the transcendent Buddha Ratnasambhava, the “jewel-born”. Ratnasambhava
is a ubiquitously represented tathagata associated with the South. He is the
father of the Jewel family of Vajrayana Buddhist deities, associated with the
element of earth, and the enlightened activity of equanimity.
Ratnasmbhava is often pictured with the other four tathagata buddhas—
Akshobya of the East, Amitabha of the West, Amoghasiddhi of the North,
and Vairochana of the Central direction. These primordial buddhas all bear an
appearance like that of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, unadorned, in the
garb of an ordained monk.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24530.

138