A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVATIBET, CIRCA 15TH/16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4901
28.9 cm (11 3/8 in.) highFootnotes西藏 約十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金菩薩像
Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s
This intriguing figure represents an unidentified bodhisattva bearing one face and four arms. Evoking a profound stillness in his gentle expression, he holds in his primary hands the Dharmic symbol of the wheel (chakra) while displaying the gesture of bestowal (varada mudra) in his remaining hands. This iconography, though fairly distinctive, appears to have some basis in paintings from West Tibet, as demonstrated by a 13th century manuscript page of Maitreya in the Cleveland Museum of Art showing a similar four-armed arrangement (1958.475). Also located within Tholing monastery's White Temple (c. 15th century) is a painting of Avalokiteshvara presenting the same implement, hinting that the sculpture in question is perhaps a lesser known aspect of Chintamanichakra Avalokiteshvara with the wish-granting, jeweled wheel (see this painting in van Ham, Guge — Ages of Gold: The West Tibetan Masterpieces, 2016, p. 219).
The closest iconographic parallels in gilt bronze are two seated bodhisattvas, both possibly four-armed manifestations of Avalokiteshvara that adorned the tashi gomangs at Densatil (Estournel, "About the 18 stupas and other treasures once at the Densatil monastery", in Asianart.com, 29 September 2020, figs. 186 & 222). Also known as a, "Reliquary Stupa of Many Auspicious Doors", these gilded, monumental structures replete with thousands of deities on separate tiers each supported a mahaparinirvana stupa housing the remains of an abbot. If this program were applied to the present figure, given that such layouts were not solely exclusive to Densatil, it would have likely occupied the second highest tier of a tashi gomang at one of its four corners. Its closer similarity with works attributed to Sonam Gyaltsen and his ateliers (c. 1430) alternately suggests that it was intended for a monastery near Shigatse, where Sonam Gyaltsen was most active, rather than for Densatil.
The artistic lineage of Sonam Gyaltsen is most apparent in the figure's leaf-shaped armbands and the wide, flat petals of the lotus base, both details which appear on a lama figure from the Claude de Marteau Collection, Part 1, sold at Bonhams, Paris, 14 June 2022, lot 41. Also compare the central leaf of the figure's crown and the rounded contours of his cherubic face to an image of Ushnishavijaya in the Rubin Museum of Art (C2005.16.22), as well as an image of Amitayus with incised decorations on the hem of his lower garment, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 44.
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A BODHISATTVATIBET, CIRCA 15TH/16TH CENTURY
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4901
28.9 cm (11 3/8 in.) highFootnotes西藏 約十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金菩薩像
Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s
This intriguing figure represents an unidentified bodhisattva bearing one face and four arms. Evoking a profound stillness in his gentle expression, he holds in his primary hands the Dharmic symbol of the wheel (chakra) while displaying the gesture of bestowal (varada mudra) in his remaining hands. This iconography, though fairly distinctive, appears to have some basis in paintings from West Tibet, as demonstrated by a 13th century manuscript page of Maitreya in the Cleveland Museum of Art showing a similar four-armed arrangement (1958.475). Also located within Tholing monastery's White Temple (c. 15th century) is a painting of Avalokiteshvara presenting the same implement, hinting that the sculpture in question is perhaps a lesser known aspect of Chintamanichakra Avalokiteshvara with the wish-granting, jeweled wheel (see this painting in van Ham, Guge — Ages of Gold: The West Tibetan Masterpieces, 2016, p. 219).
The closest iconographic parallels in gilt bronze are two seated bodhisattvas, both possibly four-armed manifestations of Avalokiteshvara that adorned the tashi gomangs at Densatil (Estournel, "About the 18 stupas and other treasures once at the Densatil monastery", in Asianart.com, 29 September 2020, figs. 186 & 222). Also known as a, "Reliquary Stupa of Many Auspicious Doors", these gilded, monumental structures replete with thousands of deities on separate tiers each supported a mahaparinirvana stupa housing the remains of an abbot. If this program were applied to the present figure, given that such layouts were not solely exclusive to Densatil, it would have likely occupied the second highest tier of a tashi gomang at one of its four corners. Its closer similarity with works attributed to Sonam Gyaltsen and his ateliers (c. 1430) alternately suggests that it was intended for a monastery near Shigatse, where Sonam Gyaltsen was most active, rather than for Densatil.
The artistic lineage of Sonam Gyaltsen is most apparent in the figure's leaf-shaped armbands and the wide, flat petals of the lotus base, both details which appear on a lama figure from the Claude de Marteau Collection, Part 1, sold at Bonhams, Paris, 14 June 2022, lot 41. Also compare the central leaf of the figure's crown and the rounded contours of his cherubic face to an image of Ushnishavijaya in the Rubin Museum of Art (C2005.16.22), as well as an image of Amitayus with incised decorations on the hem of his lower garment, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 44.
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