NEPAL, CIRCA 15TH CENTURY

Details

A gilt copper figure of Buddha
Nepal, circa 15th Century
Solidly cast standing with his left arm clutching the end of his robe, his right hand lowered in varadha mudra, the thin drapery with incised folds and fluttering hem revealing the body beneath, the face with aquiline nose and heavy-lidded eyes flanked by long earlobes and surmounted by the ushnisha
11 in. (28 cm.) high

Provenance

Christian Humann, Pan-Asian Collection, before 1977

Literature

P. Pal, The Arts of Nepal, Volume 1: Sculpture, 1978, fig. no. 175.
P. Pal, The Sensuous Immortals: A Selection of Sculptures from the Pan-Asian Collection, 1977, p. 169, cat. no. 98.

Exhibited

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1977, The Sensuous Immortals, cat. no. 98

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Lot Essay

This finely executed sculpture with elegant sense of movement given by the rhythmic patterning of the folds follows the Licchavi period prototype that reached a pinnacle of elegance and grace by the 7th century. As an ideal image, it saw revivals at various stages of Nepalese art and in Tibet, the dating of which is not yet fully understood. It was previously published with an 11th century date.
Compare with the Licchavi image at the Kimbell Art Museum, see U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, fig. 75F, p. 307.

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