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Lot Essay
Exquisitely modelled and detailed in iconographic complexity, this rare bronze sculpture of Chintamani Lokeshvara stands out for both its compositional finesse and its exceptional casting quality. The deity is shown in a graceful posture with crossed ankles, a subtle yet elegant contrapposto that enhances the rhythm of the figure. He wears a finely delineated tiger skin, rendered with naturalistic textures and loosely tied around the waist, an aesthetic hallmark of master Newar craftsmanship.
Chintamani Lokeshvara, a form of Avalokiteshvara, is captured here in the compassionate act of dispensing boons: his right hand extends forward, poised to drop a freshly plucked wish-fulfilling gem (chintamani) into the bag of a kneeling devotee. With his left hand, he lightly touches the stylised kalpavriksha, the mythical wish-fulfilling tree, which is ingeniously transformed into a mandorla that envelops the entire figure. The integration of symbolic narrative and sacred geometry is seamlessly executed, each element imbued with devotional meaning and artistic sensitivity.
The subject of Chintamani Lokeshvara is exceptionally rare in sculptural form, with few known examples in either bronze or stone. A closely related work, dated 1684, was sold at Christie’s Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 395, showing a similarly fluid composition and symbolic intricacy.
Among the earliest representations is a Pala-period bronze in the Bonardi Collection, in which animals and divine beings animate the foliage of the kalpavriksha (see Tucci, Transhimalaya, Geneva, 1973, no. 151). The theme continues into painted traditions, notably an early 18th-century Nepalese thangka published in Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, p. 82, no. 47.
This work exemplifies the Newar metalworkers’ mastery of detail, fluidity, and symbolic integration, a rare survival of a highly specialised devotional form rendered with sculptural sophistication and profound iconographic intention.
Chintamani Lokeshvara, a form of Avalokiteshvara, is captured here in the compassionate act of dispensing boons: his right hand extends forward, poised to drop a freshly plucked wish-fulfilling gem (chintamani) into the bag of a kneeling devotee. With his left hand, he lightly touches the stylised kalpavriksha, the mythical wish-fulfilling tree, which is ingeniously transformed into a mandorla that envelops the entire figure. The integration of symbolic narrative and sacred geometry is seamlessly executed, each element imbued with devotional meaning and artistic sensitivity.
The subject of Chintamani Lokeshvara is exceptionally rare in sculptural form, with few known examples in either bronze or stone. A closely related work, dated 1684, was sold at Christie’s Paris, 7 June 2011, lot 395, showing a similarly fluid composition and symbolic intricacy.
Among the earliest representations is a Pala-period bronze in the Bonardi Collection, in which animals and divine beings animate the foliage of the kalpavriksha (see Tucci, Transhimalaya, Geneva, 1973, no. 151). The theme continues into painted traditions, notably an early 18th-century Nepalese thangka published in Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, p. 82, no. 47.
This work exemplifies the Newar metalworkers’ mastery of detail, fluidity, and symbolic integration, a rare survival of a highly specialised devotional form rendered with sculptural sophistication and profound iconographic intention.