Expert’s note: This distinctive representation, with its tall ushnisha and prominent knop, belongs to an important group of 13th-14^th century bronzes that show early Tibetan artists straying away from Indian and Nepalese prototypes and including their own aesthetic proclivities.

Seated in dhyanasana atop a double-lotus base with a beaded upper rim, his right hand lowered in karana mudra and his left holding an alms bowl. The body clad in a close-fitting sanghati draped over his left shoulder, the robe bordered with incised and beaded hems. The face with a meditative expression marked by heavy-lidded eyes, finely incised curved brows centered by a gently raised urna, flanked by a pair of long pendulous ears. The hair arranged in tight curls over the high ushnisha surmounted by a tall conical knop.

Provenance: The Moke Mokotoff Collection, New York. The interior with an old label, ‘6’. John ‘Moke’ Mokotoff (1950-2022) was a devoted Buddhist practitioner, passionate collector, and esteemed dealer of Asian art. After studying expressive art and photography in school, he moved to New York, where he began to deal in the nascent market for Chinese, Indian, and Himalayan art. In 1980, Moke opened his first gallery, Mokotoff Asian Arts, and actively sold important works to some of the most prominent collections in New York and globally, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Rubin Museum of Art. Revered for his knowledge of Chinese and Indian textiles, Moke was also a compassionate teacher and lifelong patron of Buddhist monasteries and nunneries.
Condition: Good condition with old wear and casting flaws, few minor dents and tiny nicks, light surface scratches, small losses. Old remnants of lacquer-gilding to the sides of the face. The base unsealed and the interior filled with sacred scriptures, probably of a later date.

Weight: 676.5 g
Dimensions: Height 19.7 cm

The figure is meticulously inlaid with small silvered-metal plaques of rectangular shape, including one to the chest, another to the forehead, and two more on his legs. These plaques have a ritual purpose and are frequently found in Buddhist sculpture.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 7 October 2019, lot 926
Estimate: HKD 600,000 or approx. EUR 77,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper alloy figure of Buddha, Tibet, circa 13^th century
Expert remark: Compare the idiosyncratic modeling, especially the tall ushnisha, with the figure’s hair being of around the same height as the face, much like the present lot. Note the small rectangular copper plaques found on this figure, which resemble the plaques on the present lot. Note the size (25.5 cm).