Until 2nd May, 2025
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A RITUAL CROWN OF A LAMA, 15TH CENTURY
LOT 1099 - AK0124
Tibet. Crown in the form of a five-leaved Tathagata crown, worn for ceremonial events. Slightly conical, in upper area five-fold overlapping picture boards which – with the exception of one – each present a larger circular depiction of a deity in the center, below four smaller, at the top another without border. Animals are also portrayed. The fifth leaf offers only one deity in lapped border. Pure decoration is composed in light relief, the same on four crown sections, stronger on the fifth and with flame motifs. The lower border with leather.
Condition: Old wear, losses, corrosion, wear to gilt and colors, all commensurate with age.
Provenance: German private collection. Zacke, Vienna, 28 February 2020, lot 698. A private collection in Portugal, acquired from the above.
Dimensions: Height 19.5 cm (each), Length 48 cm (together)
Buddhist priests and monks wear crowns, or diadems, like this during certain religious ceremonies, especially priestly initiation rites. One of the Five Cosmic Buddhas decorates each panel, which are arranged as on a mandala, or cosmic diagram. When crowned and seated in the proper direction, the priest creates and enters a living mandala.
Each of the Five Great Buddhas or Five Jinas (conquerors) presides over one of the five cosmic directions (center, north, south, east, and west), and is associated with an element of the cosmos such as space, water, fire, earth, and wind. In addition, each one is associated with a distinct yet abstract concept, such as teaching, humility, meditation, giving, and fearlessness.
Museum comparison:
Compare a closely related Tibetan ritual crown with the five Transcendent Buddhas, dated to the late 14th-early 15th century, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, accession number 1985.391.
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