A TURQUOISE-INLAID GILT COPPER-ALLOY FIGURE OF THE CROWNED BUDDHA, TIBET, CIRCA 15TH-16TH CENTURY
Lot 304 - FAS1025

Finely cast seated in dhyanasana on a beaded double-lotus base, his right hand in bhumisparshamudra, his left resting on his lap, wearing patchwork monk's robe, it's border with beaded design, the face with a meditative expression, large urna, aquiline nose, smiling lips, pierced elongated earlobes, the hair arranged in right curls over the high ushnisha topped by a bud-form finial, the five leaf tiara and floral ribbons set with turquoise inlays. The base sealed.

Provenance: Joseph Gelpy, London, 1970s. The Presencer Collection of Buddhist Art, acquired from the above. Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 124, estimate of HKD 160,000 or EUR 20,000 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). Alain Presencer (b. 1939) is a renowned Tibetologist, collector, musician, and long-standing Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. He began studying Buddhism at age 13, later training under Professor Mathera Sadhatissa at the University of Toronto in 1961-1962, before relocating to the UK in the 1970s to immerse himself in Tibetan culture. Over the past 60 years, Alain brought to the West his knowledge of the Himalayan region. By gaining access to remote monasteries, he amassed a comprehensive collection of Tibetan Buddhist artifacts, encompassing thangkas, ritual implements, statues, mandala plaques, and singing bowls. He also produced a popular recording of his own performances, introducing this musical genre to a global audience with his album 'The Singing Bowls of Tibet', which has sold over a million copies to date. Significant pieces from his collection were sold at his personal sale at Bonhams Hong Kong on 2 October 2018. Subsequently, Alain Presencer wrote a book on his lifelong field of study, titled Tibetan Buddhist Art and published in 2019, featuring images of several objects from his collection.
Published: Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 61633.
Condition: Good condition with extensive wear and casting irregularities. Few nicks, scattered scratches, expected rubbing and flaking to gilt, minor dings, some warping, and the inlays with expected losses and associated touchups—some possibly replaced. Repairs to one earring and the base.

Weight: 1,109 g
Dimensions: Height 20.5 cm

This image can be interpreted to represent both Akshobhya, assuming it was part of a set of Five Presiding Buddhas, and Crowned Shakyamuni, assuming it was the central element of its ensemble. While Shakyamuni's renunciation of his royal birth is in opposition to him being represented with a crown, Bautze-Picron has outlined the coalescence of Indian political, devotional, and philosophical developments that resulted in Shakyamuni's spiritual authority being emphasized with regalia by the end of the first millennium AD (see Claudine Bautze-Picron, The Bejewelled Buddha from India to Burma, New Delhi, 2010).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie's Amsterdam, 21 November 2001, lot 130
Price: EUR 16,450 or approx. EUR 28,500 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Tibetan gilt-bronze figure of Akshobhya, 15^th-16^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of casting, gilding, and subject. Note the different size (32 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s London, 11 May 2016, lot 55
Price: GBP 11,875 or approx. EUR 21,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus, Tibet, 16^th century
Expert remark: Compare the related modeling, manner of casting, gilding, and size (18 cm).