NORTHEASTERN INDIA OR TIBET, 12TH-13TH CENTURY

The present lot represents a rare and early form of Vajrapani, the Great Bodhisattva of Power. Vajrapani here holds his eponymous vajra upright in his proper right hand, while a ghanta bell balances atop a towering lotus on his proper left side. This standing figure is often misidentified as Vajrasattva, who is restrained to only seated meditation poses. A primary protective deity, Vajrapani is more often recognized in his wrathful stance, as seen in the following lot.
The figure can be attributed to northeast India or central Tibet as it shows significant borrowings from the art of the Pala period. Among these stylistic tendencies are the flared double lotus base, Vajrapani’s heavy lidded eyes, the beaded and looped festoons fashioning his belt, and the heavy lotus stalks flanking the figure’s shoulders. The figure’s pose and composition can be closely compared to standing Pala period figures of Manjushri and Padmapani published by U. von Schroeder in Indo Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 2004, pp. 286-287, nos. 71D and 71E respectively. The figure of Manjushri is a particularly close comparison, styled in a similarly thin, conical headdress, and like the placement of Vajrapani’s ghanta bell, manuscript pages rest on Manjushri proper left lotus blossom. Also compare the present work to a thirteenth- century Tibetan figure of Vajrapani seated in lalitsana from the Nyingjei Lam collection (Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 68421). The figures are placed on similarly-styled double lotus bases with beaded rims, similar ghanta and vajra iconography and placement, and share a serene facial expression.