A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF THE NINTH KARMAPA, WANGCHUG DORJE

TIBET, 17TH CENTURY

Details

A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF THE NINTH KARMAPA, WANGCHUG DORJE
TIBET, 17TH CENTURY
Finely cast and heavily gilt, the sage is seated in dhyanasana on a thin cushion, his hands held over his knees in the double-gesture of bhumisparshamudra, wearing a finely pleated cape over voluminous robes, the borders incised with a foliate pattern, his rounded face with a benign expression and shortly cropped hair
8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm.) high

Provenance

Private collection, London, acquired in 2008

Literature

Rossi and Rossi, Images of Faith, 2008
Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 23952

Exhibited

Images of Faith, London, October 2008

Brought to you by

Sandhya Jain-Patel

sjain-patel@christies.com +1 212 636 2162

Lot Essay

Wangchug Dorje, the 9th Karmapa (1555-1603), was known as a great Buddhist traveler, scholar and practitioner. Well educated and a moderately prolific writer, two of his most important compositions on the mahamudra teachings were the Ocean of Certainty and Eliminating the Darkness of Ignorance.

The inscription on the verso of this work reads: Homage to the second buddha Wangchug Dorje!

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