Page 36 - Scholarly Works of Art Hong Kong Sothebys March 3 2019

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AN INSCRIBED GILT-LACQUERED ZITAN 十五世紀 藏傳紫檀描金烈焰度母坐像
FIGURE OF TARA
TIBET, 15TH CENTURY
depicted seated in lalitasana on a double-lotus base with a
beaded upper edge, the right foot resting on an individual
lotus issuing from the base, depicted with the right hand in
varada mudra and the left in vitarka mudra, the expression
rendered alert and subtly accentuated with protruding
cheekbones, framed by a pair of pendulous earlobes adorned
with ornate wheel-shaped earrings and a crown enclosing a
high top-knot surmounted with a floret, the figure superbly
rendered with a voluptuous torso adorned with a shawl
and beaded jewellery, including necklaces, bracelets and
armbands, further portrayed dressed with a loose dhoti
cascading in folds over the legs, the garment finely detailed
in gilt-lacquer with floral motifs, the exposed areas of the
body save for the face applied with gilding, the lower edge
of the base inscribed with a Tibetan inscription reading (bcu
gsum) // rje btsun ma me ltar ’bar ma bar chad bsrung ba’i
bum pa b[s]nams pa la na mo// (‘Thirteen // Homage to
Tara who, being ablaze like fire, carries a vase holding back
hindrances’).
20.1 cm, 7⅞ in.
HK$ 300,000-500,000
US$ 38,300-64,000

Inscription
銘文

34 SOTHEBY ’S SCHOLARLY AND IMPERIAL WORKS OF ART