A gilt bronze figure of Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi

TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

Details

A gilt bronze figure of Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi
Tibet, 15th Century
Striding in alidhasana on prostrate figures over a lotus base, holding a vajra and ghanta crossed in his primary hands and various implements and an elephant skin in the outstretched others, dressed in a tiger skin dhoti and adorned with garlands of skulls and severed heads, the three faces each with heavy-lidded eyes and furrowed brow surmounted by the tall chignon of hair supporting crossed vajras and the crescent moon, Vajravarahi with her legs wrapped around him, holding a skull cup and curved knife and adorned with beaded festoons, the face with open mouth and elongated eyes surmounted by a skull tiara
9 3/8 in. (23.7 cm.) high

Provenance

Spink & Son, Ltd., London, by 1999
Acquired by present owner in April 2000

Literature

Spink and Son, Visions of Perfect Worlds: Buddhist Art from the Himalayas, 1999, cat. no. 12.

Exhibited

Visions of Perfect Worlds: Buddhist Art from the Himalayas, Spink and Son, Ltd., London, 15 - 30 November, 1999, cat. no. 12

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Lot Essay

Powerfully cast in a bold diagonal displaying a heightened sense of motion, the couple appears as if dancing atop the corpses of illusion and deluded vanquished beneath their feet. For a similar example, see J. Watt, Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 57269.

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