Page 156 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

923
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRASATTVA
TIBET, 16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61962
10 1/2 in. (26.8 cm) high
$40,000 - 60,000

西藏 十六世紀 銅鎏金金剛薩埵像

Vajrasattva is a representation of the primordial essence of Buddhahood, the Adi Buddha.
Vajrasattva is frequently invoked for a purifying ceremony at the start of Vajrayana rituals,
wherein his mantra is repeated a hundred thousand times. Vajrasattva brings an actionable
quality to the Adi Buddha’s formless purity. Framed by flowing sashes, the Newari creator
of this attractive bronze has evoked a sense of immediacy in the slight sway of Vajrasattva’s
torso.

See a closely related example in the British Museum, published in von Schroeder, Indo-
Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.440, no.118B; and a 16th-century Vajradhara in
the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong
Kong, 1981, p.443, no.119G). A similar Newari-made Vajradhara, bearing a distinctly more
Tibetan face, was sold at Sotheby’s, Paris, 12 December 2013, lot 218. Also compare
Christie’s, New York, 22 March 2011, lot 300.

Provenance
Private European Collection

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