Printed from Woolley & Wallis

Description

A NEPALESE GILT-COPPER FIGURE OF VISHNU
13TH/14TH CENTURY

The four-armed deity standing in samabhanga on a round pedestal, holding his attributes, the wheel, conch, mace and lotus, dressed in a diaphanous dhoti with pleated sashes, the headdress, jewellery and belts adorned with semi-precious stones, with a flaming mandorla set behind him, together with a modern rectangular stand, 1.05kg, 20cm. (2)

Provenance: from the collection of Mr Nicholas Squire (1949-2024), Suffolk, England, purchased from Deborah Ashencaen & Gennady Leonov, The Himalayan Art Gallery, on 11th June 2002. Together with a copy of a valuation document from the Himalayan Art Gallery, dated June 2002.

Cf. Bonhams New York, 16th March 2015, lot 3, for a closely related figure of Vishnu; see also U Von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, p.359, pl.95E, for another related 14th Century Nepalese figure of Amoghapasa.

Vishnu, the preserver and protector of the universe, is invoked during times of great calamity. In his current form, he is depicted as a martial deity, wielding a mace and discus, along with a conch to rally troops to action. The extensive wear on the patina serves as evidence of the countless rituals this sculpture has been part of over the centuries.

十三/十四世紀 尼泊爾銅漆金毗濕奴立像
來源: 英國薩福克郡Nicholas Squire先生（1949-2024）收藏，2002年6月11日購於Deborah Ashencaen & Gennady Leonov 喜馬拉雅藝術藝廊，附發票複印件及藝廊2002年6月的估價文件複印件。