Fine Asian Art - 20th May 2025
Lot 46
A TIBETAN BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI
Estimate £2,000 - £3,000
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Description
A TIBETAN BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI
12TH/13TH CENTURY
The protective deity stands in pratyalidhasana, the warrior pose, leaning to his right, holding a vajra in his raised right hand while exhibiting tarjani mudra with his left hand, adorned with a tiger skin wrapped around his haunches and jewellery of writhing snakes, 973g, 16.8cm.
Provenance: from the collection of Mr Nicholas Squire (1949-2024), Suffolk, England, purchased from Spink & Son Ltd. in 1997.
Published: Spink, Light of Compassion: Buddhist Art from Nepal and Tibet, 1997, p.18, fig.7.
Cf. The Palace Museum, Beijing for two closely related figures dated from 12th to 13th Century, illustrated in Classics of the Forbidden City: Tibetan Buddhist Sculptures, pls.120-121; for another example, see D Weldon and J Casey, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, pp.59 & 98, fig.23 and pl.16.
Vajrapani, the oldest protective deity in the Buddhist pantheon, embodies strength and serves as the vanquisher of delusion and ignorance. His fierce attributes are accentuated with a spirited naiveté, symbolising his power to overcome any harmful forces that could endanger the dharma and its followers.
十二/十三世紀 銅金剛手菩薩立像
來源: 英國薩福克郡Nicholas Squire先生（1949-2024）收藏，1997年購於倫敦Spink & Son。
出版: Spink, Light of Compassion Buddhist Art from Nepal and Tibet, 1997年, 頁18, 圖7。