.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This sensitively rendered portrait depicts Drokmi Lotsawa Shakya Yeshe (992 / 3–1043 / 72), a seminal 11th-century translator and master of the Lamdre teachings, a cornerstone of the Sakya tradition. The inscription identifies him and affirms his position within the lineage, offering homage and a request for blessings.
Drokmi Lotsawa was revered for his scholarship, having translated nearly seventy tantric texts from Sanskrit after years of intensive study in India and Nepal. His pivotal role in bringing esoteric Indian teachings into Tibetan intellectual life is embodied in this finely executed sculpture.
The figure is masterfully cast, with features rendered in a soft, naturalistic mode. The hands and feet are particularly delicate, evoking the pliability and warmth of living flesh. Subtle gestural refinement conveys an inner serenity and spiritual presence.
The treatment of the robes is especially noteworthy. Draped with a sense of weight and fluidity, they curve around the body in a naturalistic manner, falling in gentle, undulating folds that accentuate the figure’s quiet grace. The incised hemline, broad and adorned with a foliate motif, adds a refined opulence to the textile, heightening the sense of movement and balance.
This stylistic treatment finds a close parallel in the 15th-century portrait of another Lamdre lineage master, Drakpa Gyaltsen (see Rossi, Homage to the Holy: Portraits of Tibet’s Spiritual Teachers, London, 2003, cat. 20). Both works share a striking textural contrast between flesh and garment, as well as a distinctive decision to leave the lips un-gilded, allowing the red copper of the alloy to show through and enhancing the lifelike realism of the faces.
With its expressive modelling, refined casting, and layered iconographic meaning, this portrait offers not only a representation of a great historical figure but also an embodiment of the stylistic and spiritual ideals of 15th-century Tibetan art.
Drokmi Lotsawa was revered for his scholarship, having translated nearly seventy tantric texts from Sanskrit after years of intensive study in India and Nepal. His pivotal role in bringing esoteric Indian teachings into Tibetan intellectual life is embodied in this finely executed sculpture.
The figure is masterfully cast, with features rendered in a soft, naturalistic mode. The hands and feet are particularly delicate, evoking the pliability and warmth of living flesh. Subtle gestural refinement conveys an inner serenity and spiritual presence.
The treatment of the robes is especially noteworthy. Draped with a sense of weight and fluidity, they curve around the body in a naturalistic manner, falling in gentle, undulating folds that accentuate the figure’s quiet grace. The incised hemline, broad and adorned with a foliate motif, adds a refined opulence to the textile, heightening the sense of movement and balance.
This stylistic treatment finds a close parallel in the 15th-century portrait of another Lamdre lineage master, Drakpa Gyaltsen (see Rossi, Homage to the Holy: Portraits of Tibet’s Spiritual Teachers, London, 2003, cat. 20). Both works share a striking textural contrast between flesh and garment, as well as a distinctive decision to leave the lips un-gilded, allowing the red copper of the alloy to show through and enhancing the lifelike realism of the faces.
With its expressive modelling, refined casting, and layered iconographic meaning, this portrait offers not only a representation of a great historical figure but also an embodiment of the stylistic and spiritual ideals of 15th-century Tibetan art.