Page 164 - Bonhams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art March 2019

926
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF RATNASAMBHAVA
CENTRAL TIBET, 14TH/15TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61933
10 1/2 in. (26.5 cm) high
$180,000 - 220,000

藏中 十四/十五世紀 銅鎏金寶生佛像

In clean lines and rounded forms, the artist conveys the power and presence of
Ratnasambhava, the Presiding Buddha of the South. The well-proportioned figure and
simple yet sensuous modeling are evocative of high Newari craftsmanship, popularly
commissioned by wealthy Tibetan monastic patrons during the 14th and 15th centuries.

The bronze is related stylistically to a 14th-century gilt bronze Buddha sold at Sotheby’s,
New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1036, especially in the robust limbs, the broad shoulders,
and the thick chest narrowing to a defined waist. Both wear two layers of upper garments,
suggested by the two prominent robe edges decorated with beaded line. One garment
extends from the left shoulder under the right arm. The other garment also starts from
the left shoulder and descends to the left leg. This two-layered garb appears to be a
characteristic feature of Buddhist bronzes produced in 14th and 15th centuries, as
replicated on the following examples: von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol.2,
Hong Kong, 2001, pp.962 & 1063, no.231B & 271D; Sotheby’s, New York, 22 March 2018,
lot 1037; and Béguin, Art Sacre du Tibet, Paris, 2013, p.121, no.49.

More specifically, the bronze also broadly relates to one of the pre-eminent artistic projects
of the 14th and 15th century in Tibet, the tashi gomang stupas of Densatil monastery.
These tall gilded tashi gomang stupas were packed with affixed Buddha and Bodhisattva
sculptures by the use of tangs protruding from the center of each’s lotus base. The present
sculpture has the remnants of such a tang. The sculpture also draws stylistic parallels to
sculptures identified with Densatil monastery, such as its comparable treatment of the lotus
petals, rounded physiognomy, and webbed hands with raised emblems to a gilt bronze of
Saravid Vairocana published, Czaja & Poser, Golden Visions of Densatil, New York, 2014,
pp.128-9, no.27.

Provenance
Koller Auktionen, Zurich, 23 & 24 November 1990, lot 92

162 | BONHAMS