Page 54 - 2020 Sept 22 Himalayin and Indian Works of Art Sotheby's NYC Asia Week

9/2/2020 Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Works of Art | Sotheby's

and spiritual adviser to the Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722). Educated at the imperial court of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735),
Rolpai Dorje formed a strong relationship with his fellow student, the future Qianlong Emperor (1736-1796).

Rolpai Dorje was highly accomplished – he acted as political adviser to the Emperor, strengthening relations between Tibet, China,
and Mongolia; he was a well-known scholar and translator, completing translations of the Tripitaka into Mongolian, Chinese and
Manchu; he was involved in the building projects of monasteries and temples; and he managed the Imperial Palace collection of
Buddhist art.

Here, the hierarch wears the mitre-shaped hat affiliated with the Changkya Hutuku lamas and bears his distinctive mark of a small
growth on the right side of his face. Other examples of Rolpai Dorje in bronze can be seen in The Jacques Marchais Museum of
Tibetan Art (Cat. 85.04.0162) and in the Field Museum of Natural History. A larger example is published in Donald Dinwiddie,
ed., Portraits of the Masters, 2003, pp. 328-9, cat. no. 94.

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