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Lot Essay
This rare and striking image of Avalokiteshvara represents a unique standing form of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, a variant of the Bodhisattva of Compassion typically portrayed in seated posture. First published by Stella Kramrisch in her seminal 1964 exhibition catalogue The Art of Nepal, the sculpture was originally dated to the 16th century. However, subsequent decades of scholarship in Himalayan art have established a more accurate attribution to the early 14th century, during the flourishing of the Khasa Malla kingdom in West Nepal and West Tibet.
Cast in copper alloy using the lost-wax technique and richly gilded, this figure exudes a refined elegance characteristic of high Himalayan craftsmanship. Its delicate proportions, supple form, and poised serenity reflect the influence of Newar sculptural idioms from the Kathmandu Valley. The four-armed deity clasps the principal hands in the gesture of devotion (anjali mudra), while the now-lost upper hands likely held lotus stems.
What sets this figure apart is not only its upright posture but its nuanced interpretation of the Shadakshari iconography, adapted here perhaps in response to specific patronage or regional devotional practice. However, while the standing posture of this Shadakshari is rare, it is part of a broader, often locally determined, iconographic fluidity within Himalayan Buddhist art.
While the sculpture’s stylistic features, such as the sensuous modelling, tiered crowns, lotus jewellery, and gem-set inlays, reflect close ties to Kathmandu Valley production, several critical details mark it as a product of the Khasa Malla kingdom. Most distinctive is the fine articulation of the finger joints on the reverse of the hands, a feature that, as Ian Alsop has shown ('Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Mallas' in Casey and Denwood, eds. Tibetan Art: Towards a Definition of Style, London, 1997, pp. 68-79), appears uniquely in Khasa Malla bronzes. The restrained coiffure, lotus-bud crown elements (possibly referencing Pala motifs), and slightly schematic treatment of the back, relatively unfinished yet structurally sound, support this attribution.
Additional regional markers include the insertion plates on the back of the hollow-cast sculpture, used for consecratory materials, a Tibetan ritual practice not found in Valley sculpture but typical of Khasa Malla bronzes intended for West Tibetan contexts. Traces of blue pigment in the hair and the use of turquoise in the jewellery further point toward this western Himalayan provenance. Similar pigment and material use is documented in other Khasa Malla works, such as the Avalokiteshvara in the Claire Ritter Collection and a related sculpture in the Ford Collection (ibid, Alsop, "Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Mallas of West Nepal/West Tibet" asianart.com, figs. 7, 8.)
Stylistic parallels may be drawn to a Vasudhara in the Rietberg Museum (Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, no. 97, p. 152) and the Goddess in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C. (F1986.23) particularly in the facial type and the distinct lotus-bud crown finials.
The present sculpture is one of only a handful of known representations of Shadakshari Lokeshvara from the Khasa Malla kingdom. It stands as a rare and refined testament to the confluence of Newar aesthetic mastery and western Himalayan devotional vision during a period of vibrant artistic production.
Cast in copper alloy using the lost-wax technique and richly gilded, this figure exudes a refined elegance characteristic of high Himalayan craftsmanship. Its delicate proportions, supple form, and poised serenity reflect the influence of Newar sculptural idioms from the Kathmandu Valley. The four-armed deity clasps the principal hands in the gesture of devotion (anjali mudra), while the now-lost upper hands likely held lotus stems.
What sets this figure apart is not only its upright posture but its nuanced interpretation of the Shadakshari iconography, adapted here perhaps in response to specific patronage or regional devotional practice. However, while the standing posture of this Shadakshari is rare, it is part of a broader, often locally determined, iconographic fluidity within Himalayan Buddhist art.
While the sculpture’s stylistic features, such as the sensuous modelling, tiered crowns, lotus jewellery, and gem-set inlays, reflect close ties to Kathmandu Valley production, several critical details mark it as a product of the Khasa Malla kingdom. Most distinctive is the fine articulation of the finger joints on the reverse of the hands, a feature that, as Ian Alsop has shown ('Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Mallas' in Casey and Denwood, eds. Tibetan Art: Towards a Definition of Style, London, 1997, pp. 68-79), appears uniquely in Khasa Malla bronzes. The restrained coiffure, lotus-bud crown elements (possibly referencing Pala motifs), and slightly schematic treatment of the back, relatively unfinished yet structurally sound, support this attribution.
Additional regional markers include the insertion plates on the back of the hollow-cast sculpture, used for consecratory materials, a Tibetan ritual practice not found in Valley sculpture but typical of Khasa Malla bronzes intended for West Tibetan contexts. Traces of blue pigment in the hair and the use of turquoise in the jewellery further point toward this western Himalayan provenance. Similar pigment and material use is documented in other Khasa Malla works, such as the Avalokiteshvara in the Claire Ritter Collection and a related sculpture in the Ford Collection (ibid, Alsop, "Metal Sculpture of the Khasa Mallas of West Nepal/West Tibet" asianart.com, figs. 7, 8.)
Stylistic parallels may be drawn to a Vasudhara in the Rietberg Museum (Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, no. 97, p. 152) and the Goddess in the National Museum of Asian Art, Washington D.C. (F1986.23) particularly in the facial type and the distinct lotus-bud crown finials.
The present sculpture is one of only a handful of known representations of Shadakshari Lokeshvara from the Khasa Malla kingdom. It stands as a rare and refined testament to the confluence of Newar aesthetic mastery and western Himalayan devotional vision during a period of vibrant artistic production.