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Lot Essay
In the artistic landscape of Western Tibet, particularly within the Guge Kingdom (10th–17th centuries), clay and stucco emerged as primary sculptural materials for creating monumental images intended for temple interiors. These materials, commonly used from Himachal Pradesh to Ladakh, were favored for their malleability, enabling dynamic modelling and expressive detail. While often vibrantly polychromed, many sculptures, such as those discussed here, were also adorned with gold leaf to signify the sanctity and radiance of the Buddha.
The Buddha is most likely from Tsaparang, the capital of Guge, exemplify the region’s refined late-medieval aesthetic. Though damage, most notably, the loss of arms which hinders precise mudra (hand gesture) identification, the visual impact remains compelling. He is seated in vajraparyankasana, the meditative posture of unwavering stability. He wears a monastic robe rendered in a single piece, with delicately modelled folds that ripple across the chest and lap, imbuing the figure with a sense of softness and naturalism. A dot (urna) is painted above the nose bridge, symbolising the Buddha’s supernatural wisdom. His hair is painted blue, aligning with traditional iconographic norms for enlightened beings.
As noted by Pal (ibid, 2002, p. 160) Christian Luczanits (Buddhist Sculpture in Clay: Early Western Himalayan Art, Late 10th to Early 13th Centuries, Chicago, 2004), believes the sculpture can be securely attributed to the sacred precincts of Tsaparang and may have belonged to a group of Thirty-Five Buddhas of Confession (Trisong Gyatsa), a popular devotional motif in Mahayana Buddhism aimed at purification through visualisation and recitation. Comparable sculptural programs are documented in situ, particularly in temple murals and iconographic cycles at Tsaparang (ibid, 2004: 126–135).
The Buddha demonstrates a clear continuity with the eleventh-century artistic heritage of the western Himalayas, especially in its serene expression and balanced proportions. This persistence of earlier stylistic values illustrates how Guge artists selectively adapted and preserved older traditions even while engaging with new iconographic themes and materials.
The Buddha is most likely from Tsaparang, the capital of Guge, exemplify the region’s refined late-medieval aesthetic. Though damage, most notably, the loss of arms which hinders precise mudra (hand gesture) identification, the visual impact remains compelling. He is seated in vajraparyankasana, the meditative posture of unwavering stability. He wears a monastic robe rendered in a single piece, with delicately modelled folds that ripple across the chest and lap, imbuing the figure with a sense of softness and naturalism. A dot (urna) is painted above the nose bridge, symbolising the Buddha’s supernatural wisdom. His hair is painted blue, aligning with traditional iconographic norms for enlightened beings.
As noted by Pal (ibid, 2002, p. 160) Christian Luczanits (Buddhist Sculpture in Clay: Early Western Himalayan Art, Late 10th to Early 13th Centuries, Chicago, 2004), believes the sculpture can be securely attributed to the sacred precincts of Tsaparang and may have belonged to a group of Thirty-Five Buddhas of Confession (Trisong Gyatsa), a popular devotional motif in Mahayana Buddhism aimed at purification through visualisation and recitation. Comparable sculptural programs are documented in situ, particularly in temple murals and iconographic cycles at Tsaparang (ibid, 2004: 126–135).
The Buddha demonstrates a clear continuity with the eleventh-century artistic heritage of the western Himalayas, especially in its serene expression and balanced proportions. This persistence of earlier stylistic values illustrates how Guge artists selectively adapted and preserved older traditions even while engaging with new iconographic themes and materials.