TIBET, 16TH CENTURY OR EARLIER

An abraded inscription on the base of this venerated lama’s image identifies him as the Drukpa Kagyu lama, Gotsangpa Gonpo Dorje (1189-1258). The wear from adoration of this expertly crafted portrait perhaps draws greater attention to the silver and copper inlay that give definition to his most essential features. The proportion and shape of the lotus petals as well as the incising details and metalwork techniques bear a striking resemblance to those on another Drukpa Kagyu lama published in U. von Schroeder’s Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981/2008, p. 136, 136E.