.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This dynamic sculpture represents one of the most powerful and enigmatic deities of early Vajrayana Buddhism. Identified by inscription as Vajrahumkara, an archaic tantric deity, the figure embodies a moment of explosive energy and spiritual potency. Standing in the dramatic pratyalidhahsana pose, traditionally associated with the act of hurling divine weapons, he brandishes a vajra in his raised right hand, poised for release, symbolizing the indestructible force of wisdom that dispels ignorance.
The iconography is exceptionally rare. Vajrahumkara’s primary hands form a unique hybrid mudra, merging the thunderbolt-sound gesture (vajrahumkara mudra), with wrists crossed, and the warning gesture (tarjani mudra), with index fingers extended. This inventive combination is virtually unparalleled in Buddhist art. His wrathful expression further distinguishes the image: rather than the conventional grimace, his mouth contorts in a striking dual expression—one side biting the lower lip, the other snarling—underscoring the deity’s fierce and esoteric nature.
Cast in a copper-rich alloy with remarkable solidity and a palpable sense of movement, the sculpture conveys overwhelming physical and spiritual power. Its scale and complexity mark it as one of the earliest and most significant bronzes of Vajrayana Buddhism, representing a deity so rare that examples are almost entirely absent from major collections.
Although long associated with Nepalese craftsmanship, recent scholarship attributes this masterpiece to the Tibetan Empire period. A landmark exhibition at Dunhuang presented three closely related bronzes now dated to the 9th century (Xudong and Pritzker, Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road: Masterpieces of the Tubo Period, pp.48–50). Each shares defining characteristics: solid casting, prominent beaded jewelry, and leaf-shaped armbands at the armpit. Notably, the Pritzker Vajrapani and the Lhasa Tibet Museum bodhisattva display double rows of pearls across the crown band and heavy rosette earrings identical to those on this Vajrahumkara. The large head of the Dunhuang bodhisattva further echoes the distinctive crown construction seen here.
Additional parallels appear among bronzes preserved in Lhasa, including a monumental Trailokyavijaya (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, Vol. I, p.511, no.166B; also nos.147A–D, 149A–E, 152A–G; and Vol. II, pp.930–40, nos.216A–221A). These works collectively define an early Tibetan sculptural idiom that fused Indian tantric iconography with local imperial patronage.
This Vajrahumkara likely formed part of a grand sculptural mandala alongside two other wrathful deities of similar scale: a figure of Manjushri Yamantaka in the Pritzker Collection and another wrathful Manjushri in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1982.220.13). Together, these three bronzes represent the finest surviving examples of wrathful deities from this formative period of Tibetan Buddhist art.
The theological source for this triad may lie in the Manjushri Namansangiti Tantra, a seminal text first translated into Tibetan in the 8th century. Associated with mandalas dedicated to Manjushri and Vairocana, the Namansangiti positions Manjushri as the central cosmic force, with other deities as his emanations. Verse 71 declares: “Indestructibly violent with great delight, he [Manjushri] performs the Hum of Vajrahumkara” (Davidson, “The Litany of Names of Manjushri,” in Strickmann (ed.), Tantric and Taoist Studies, Brussels, 1981, p.27). This connection illuminates Vajrahumkara’s attributes: the cylindrical object in his left hand may represent a pestle or sutra scroll, both linked to Manjushri, while his crown, featuring the Five Presiding Buddhas with Vairocana at the summit, reinforces his cosmic role. Such imagery situates Vajrahumkara within the early Yoga Tantra tradition, which flourished in Tibet between the 8th and 10th centuries before yielding to the Highest Yoga Tantras during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the 11th century.
The iconography is exceptionally rare. Vajrahumkara’s primary hands form a unique hybrid mudra, merging the thunderbolt-sound gesture (vajrahumkara mudra), with wrists crossed, and the warning gesture (tarjani mudra), with index fingers extended. This inventive combination is virtually unparalleled in Buddhist art. His wrathful expression further distinguishes the image: rather than the conventional grimace, his mouth contorts in a striking dual expression—one side biting the lower lip, the other snarling—underscoring the deity’s fierce and esoteric nature.
Cast in a copper-rich alloy with remarkable solidity and a palpable sense of movement, the sculpture conveys overwhelming physical and spiritual power. Its scale and complexity mark it as one of the earliest and most significant bronzes of Vajrayana Buddhism, representing a deity so rare that examples are almost entirely absent from major collections.
Although long associated with Nepalese craftsmanship, recent scholarship attributes this masterpiece to the Tibetan Empire period. A landmark exhibition at Dunhuang presented three closely related bronzes now dated to the 9th century (Xudong and Pritzker, Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road: Masterpieces of the Tubo Period, pp.48–50). Each shares defining characteristics: solid casting, prominent beaded jewelry, and leaf-shaped armbands at the armpit. Notably, the Pritzker Vajrapani and the Lhasa Tibet Museum bodhisattva display double rows of pearls across the crown band and heavy rosette earrings identical to those on this Vajrahumkara. The large head of the Dunhuang bodhisattva further echoes the distinctive crown construction seen here.
Additional parallels appear among bronzes preserved in Lhasa, including a monumental Trailokyavijaya (von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculpture in Tibet, Vol. I, p.511, no.166B; also nos.147A–D, 149A–E, 152A–G; and Vol. II, pp.930–40, nos.216A–221A). These works collectively define an early Tibetan sculptural idiom that fused Indian tantric iconography with local imperial patronage.
This Vajrahumkara likely formed part of a grand sculptural mandala alongside two other wrathful deities of similar scale: a figure of Manjushri Yamantaka in the Pritzker Collection and another wrathful Manjushri in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1982.220.13). Together, these three bronzes represent the finest surviving examples of wrathful deities from this formative period of Tibetan Buddhist art.
The theological source for this triad may lie in the Manjushri Namansangiti Tantra, a seminal text first translated into Tibetan in the 8th century. Associated with mandalas dedicated to Manjushri and Vairocana, the Namansangiti positions Manjushri as the central cosmic force, with other deities as his emanations. Verse 71 declares: “Indestructibly violent with great delight, he [Manjushri] performs the Hum of Vajrahumkara” (Davidson, “The Litany of Names of Manjushri,” in Strickmann (ed.), Tantric and Taoist Studies, Brussels, 1981, p.27). This connection illuminates Vajrahumkara’s attributes: the cylindrical object in his left hand may represent a pestle or sutra scroll, both linked to Manjushri, while his crown, featuring the Five Presiding Buddhas with Vairocana at the summit, reinforces his cosmic role. Such imagery situates Vajrahumkara within the early Yoga Tantra tradition, which flourished in Tibet between the 8th and 10th centuries before yielding to the Highest Yoga Tantras during the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the 11th century.