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Lot Essay
This richly-gilt bronze figure of Buddha, supported on a stepped throne and backed by a flaming aureole, both with diminutive images of attendant figures, displays an unidentified iconographic program, but displays all of the hallmarks of fifteenth-century Central Tibetan metalwork, including powerful modeling of the central figure, heavy gilding, and fine incised detailing.
The Buddha sits proudly on an upturned lotus base with his legs crossed in vajrasana and his hands in bhumisparshamudra, recalling the moment the Buddha Shakyamuni defeated the temptations of Mara and attained enlightenment at the site of Bodh Gaya. He is cloaked in a diaphanous sanghati with hems incised with a scrolling foliate pattern and which reveals his softly modeled form beneath. The head is supported on a short neck which also possibly references the main image of Buddha at Bodh Gaya, which is depicted with a short neck. His face is full in the cheek and chin, with sinuously-arched eyelids and brows centered by a raised urna and flanked by the pendulous earlobes of a prince. The hair is depicted in tight curls over the ushnisha, which is topped by a gilt-knot.
The Buddha is backed by an integral flaming aureole which rises from vases at either corner. At the top of the aureole is a diminutive image of what appears to be a rare form of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, a form of the bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara. Further down, flanking the Buddha at his shoulders, are further images of Vajrapani at proper right and Green Tara at proper left. The lotus base on which the central figure sits has two attached lotus bases at either side with apertures on top that likely would have supported additional, separately cast figures. All are supported on a two-tiered throne, with the top tier supported by foliate columns similar to those supporting the tiers of the famous stepped stupas of Densatil monastery. At the center of the throne within an arched niche is a dancing female figure, possibly representing a musician. To either side of her are further images of a seated siddha-like figure at proper right and a dancing dakini at proper left, and a lion can be found at each side of the throne.
While the iconography remains an enigma, the composition of the throne, the rich gilding, and form of the central buddha are reminiscent of some of the great Tibetan metal casting monuments of the fifteenth century, such as Densatil, and it is possible this small work was a personal altar made in the the same milieu.
The Buddha sits proudly on an upturned lotus base with his legs crossed in vajrasana and his hands in bhumisparshamudra, recalling the moment the Buddha Shakyamuni defeated the temptations of Mara and attained enlightenment at the site of Bodh Gaya. He is cloaked in a diaphanous sanghati with hems incised with a scrolling foliate pattern and which reveals his softly modeled form beneath. The head is supported on a short neck which also possibly references the main image of Buddha at Bodh Gaya, which is depicted with a short neck. His face is full in the cheek and chin, with sinuously-arched eyelids and brows centered by a raised urna and flanked by the pendulous earlobes of a prince. The hair is depicted in tight curls over the ushnisha, which is topped by a gilt-knot.
The Buddha is backed by an integral flaming aureole which rises from vases at either corner. At the top of the aureole is a diminutive image of what appears to be a rare form of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, a form of the bodhisattva, Avalokiteshvara. Further down, flanking the Buddha at his shoulders, are further images of Vajrapani at proper right and Green Tara at proper left. The lotus base on which the central figure sits has two attached lotus bases at either side with apertures on top that likely would have supported additional, separately cast figures. All are supported on a two-tiered throne, with the top tier supported by foliate columns similar to those supporting the tiers of the famous stepped stupas of Densatil monastery. At the center of the throne within an arched niche is a dancing female figure, possibly representing a musician. To either side of her are further images of a seated siddha-like figure at proper right and a dancing dakini at proper left, and a lion can be found at each side of the throne.
While the iconography remains an enigma, the composition of the throne, the rich gilding, and form of the central buddha are reminiscent of some of the great Tibetan metal casting monuments of the fifteenth century, such as Densatil, and it is possible this small work was a personal altar made in the the same milieu.