TIBET, 14TH CENTURY

This fourteenth-century bronze statue depicts the wrathful and corpulent figure of Nilambara Vajrapani, “the vajra-holder of dark-blue raiment.” Unlike most other Vajrapani images made during this time, the Nilambara form does not carry a bell, nor is he shown embracing a consort. Another distinctive feature of this icon is the presence of the eight great nagas in the form of snakes. In this present work, a naga is tied to secure his crown, one is curled around his waist like a belt, and smaller ones act as bracelets on his ankles and wrists. Promoted by Shalu Monastery, the lineage of Nilambara Vajrapani is prominent within the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The figure stands in alidhasana, thrusting diagonally to his right. His head, exaggerated in size in comparison to the proportions of his body, is adorned with a crown of skulls supported by a snake-headband. The piled locks of his hair support a blade-like protuberance, on which is displayed Akshobhya Buddha. The threatening gesture of the left hand with the raised forefinger serves as a sign of admonition. In his right hand he holds a vajra, the indestructible weapon of Indra, the Indian Vedic rain and thunder-deity. Compare the iconography of the present lot with a painting of Vajrapani illustrated by R. Linrothe and J. Watt in Demonic Devine: Himalayan Art and Beyond, New York, p.229. Also compare the present work with a thirteenth-century Vajrapani from the Fondation Alain Bordier at the Tibet Museum, Gruyères (acc. no. ABS 070).