A TIBETAN GILT-BRONZE FIGURE GROUP OF CHAKRASAMVARA AND VAJRAVARAHI

A TIBETAN GILT-BRONZE FIGURE GROUP OF CHAKRASAMVARA AND VAJRAVARAHI
16TH CENTURY

The four-faced twelve-armed deity depicted in yab-yum with his female consort Vajravarahi, his primary arms wrapped around his consort holding a vajra and a ghanta forming vajrahumkara mudra, the other hands holding various attributes including the head of Brahma, a damaru, a khatvanga, a kapala, a kartika and an axe, his uppermost arms stretch outwards whilst Vajravarahi holds a kapala and a kartika behind him, with a modern black stand, the figure group 167g, 8.5cm, 12cm overall. (2)

Provenance: from the collection of Mr Nicholas Squire (1949-2024), Suffolk, England, together with a copy of a valuation from Spink & Son Ltd. dated 21st December 1989.

Cf. The Minneapolis Institute of Art, accession no. 97.156.2a,b for a related larger 15th century example.

The name Chakrasamvara translates directly to 'Circle of Bliss'. The embrace of the esoteric deity and his consort Vajravarahi seen in the figure group offered here symbolises the union of wisdom and compassion, the two fundamental principles of Vajrayana Buddhism.

十六世紀 銅鎏金勝樂金剛擁妃像
來源: 英國薩福克郡Nicholas Squire先生（1949-2024）收藏，附1989年12月21日Spink & Son 的估價文件複印件。