Page 134 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

At the center of this lotus mandala, when opened, the artist has cast a delicate gilded image
of Chakrasamvara embracing his consort Vajravarahi. The divine couple is surrounded by
eight dancing yoginis cast on the interior of each hinged lotus petal. When retracted to
enclose the deities within their transcendent realm, the exterior of the lotus petals depict
eight mahasiddhas in cremation grounds, perfecting their transformative Buddhist practice
in these potent liminal spaces. The lotus bud is supported by a finely modeled bronze stem
with scrolling openwork vines that cradle gilded effigies of Shakyamuni Buddha and a pair
of Bodhisattvas. Two gilded serpent kings, Nanda and Upananda, support the lotus flower’s
glorious ascension from the purified waters depicted on the sculpture’s lotus base below.

The sculpture’s lotus stem, lotus bud, and paired Bodhisattvas and serpent kings can
be attributed with confidence to 12th-century Northeastern India. Its overall design and
modelling are reflected in another Pala lotus mandala dedicated to Chakrasamvara in the
Palace Museum, Beijing (Zangchuan Fojiao Zaoxiang, Hong Kong, 2008, p.56, no.55). Both
the three-layered exterior of the present mandala’s lotus petals and the technique of casting
the retinue figures in high relief on their interior matches those of a Pala Hevajra mandala
in the Rubin Museum of Art (The Rubin Museum of Art Collection Highlights, New York,
2014, pp.224-5). And while another Pala Hevajra lotus mandala, formerly in the Pan-Asian
Collection, lacks the Bodhisattvas and serpent kings on its stem, it demonstrates a similar
refined treatment of its central deities (Pal, The Sensuous Immortals, Los Angeles, 1977,
no.57). Lastly, compare another Pala example sold at Christie’s, New York, 22 March 2011,
lot 382.

Meanwhile, this lotus mandala’s base features broad and plump petals characteristic of
the Qianlong period. Its seven-character inscription also indicates it was consecrated
during the Qianlong reign and suggests it was once in the Qing palace collection. The
base’s inscription ends with “jing zhuang” (“respectfully consecrated”), which is distinct
and less common than “jing zao” (“respectfully made”). The use of the term here appears
to commemorate a consecrating ritual rather than sealing the interior of the base with
consecrated material, which would be inconsistent with how Pala lotus mandalas were
initially produced. Another instance of a Qianlong inscription memorializing the consecration
of an earlier Buddhist sculpture appears on a Xuande-mark-and-period Vajrasattva sold at
Hanhai, Beijing, 7 June 2010, lot 2669.

132 | BONHAMS