OUEST DU TIBET, XIE-XIIE SIÈCLE

With gentle expression and in a frontal posture, this Vajrapani stands erect holding his vajra attribute in his lower left hand. He wears a three-pointed crown, rosette earrings and armbands, double strands of large beaded necklaces, and dhoti covered in incised floral patterns. The three-leaf crown and brassy finish are stylistically derivative from traditions of neighboring regions of Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Ladakh, sources which had a profound effect on the development of Western Tibetan art in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Two other standing Vajrapanis attributed to Ladakh are published with incised dhotis and thick legs (H. Uhlig and U. von Schroeder, Buddhistische Kunst aus dem Himalaya: Kaschmir, Ladakh, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, Berlin, 1976, p. 18). The angled sash across the thighs and conical triple-leaf crown is shared by another Western Tibet Padmapani (HAR 13436).