Until 31st Mar, 2025
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A RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF NAIRATMYA, NEPAL, MALLA PERIOD, 14TH-15TH CENTURY
Lot 18 - HS1224
Finely cast, standing with hips elegantly swayed in tribhanga on a double lotus base, raising a kapala in her left hand and holding a bottle-form vessel in her right, wearing a voluminous flared dhoti tied at the waist and billowing shawls draped over her shoulders.
Nairatmya is richly adorned with a beaded necklace suspending a floral pendant, circular earrings with flowerheads, and a five-part foliate tiara framing her face, the hair piled in a chignon surmounted by a jewel.
Provenance: From a private collection in Kent, United Kingdom.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, expected casting flaws, small nicks, light dents, minor losses, rubbing to gilt, remnants of ancient pigment. The base dates from the same period but may have come from a different figure. An aureole was once attached to the base but is now missing. The back is cast with a small rectangular aperture which at some point was probably sealed.
Expert’s note: The present bronze was likely made by a Newari craftsman working for a Tibetan patron. The beautifully proportioned body and the ruddy copper alloy with its sumptuous gilding all resemble works from the Newari tradition of Nepal, as does the separately cast base. Elements indicating a Newar adapting his work for a Tibetan patron, aside from the subject itself, include the thickly beaded necklaces and the prominently raised third eye. As David Weldon and Casey Singer have discussed, Newari artists, known for their skilled metal casting, were frequently hired by wealthy Tibetan patrons during the 14th-15th centuries, among them notably the Sakya order (The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet, London, 1999, page 176).
Weight: 275.9 g
Dimensions: Height 13.3 cm
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2020, lot 944
Price: USD 17,500 or approx. EUR 19,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt-copper figure of Amoghapasha Lokeshvara, Nepal, Malla period, 14th-15th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling with similar pose, expression, robe, and jewelry. Note the different subject and size (18 cm).
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