Lot Essay
The manner in which this piece was cast combined with the fact that it is a depiction of a Buddhist deity suggest that it relates to a rare group of bronzes from the Khasa Malla Kingdom of West Nepal and West Tibet. The Khasa Mallas flourished between the 12th and 14th centuries and were great patrons of Buddhist art. During their reign techniques of bronze casting reached high levels of refinement, as is evident in the present piece; see I. Alsop, 'The Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Malla Kingdom', Orientations, June 1994, pp. 61-68.