A BRONZE FIGURE OF A FEMALE DEITY

WESTERN TIBET, 12TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF A FEMALE DEITY
WESTERN TIBET, 12TH CENTURY
Standing with four arms in various mudras and holding multiple implements, clad in a knee-length dhoti with pendant folds and adorned with various necklaces and the sacred thread, the face with an attentive expression and flanked by large hooped earrings, her head surmounted by a tall tiara with flared ribbons, the hair arranged in a tall chignon
6 ¼ in. (15.8 cm.) high

Provenance

Acquired in Hong Kong, 10 May 1993

Literature

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 23551

Brought to you by

Leiko Coyle

lcoyle@christies.com 212 636 2404

Lot Essay

Stylistically, western Tibetan sculpture was greatly influenced by Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and northern and northeastern India. Bronzes from the vital early years of the Second Transmission of Buddhism to Western Tibet in the late 10th and early 11th century under King Yeshe, the translator Rinchen Sangpo, and the Indian sage Atisha, are extremely rare. For a closely related example see U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, pp.176-177, fig.32D.

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