A LARGE (56 CM) AND IMPORTANT BRONZE FIGURE OF SHADAKSHARI LOKESHVARA, CENTRAL TIBET, CIRCA 14TH CENTURY

Superbly cast seated in dhyanasana on a double-lotus pedestal with the principal hands held together before the chest in anjali mudra, the secondary hands clutching a rosary and lotus stem. Richly adorned in beaded jewelry, the deity is dressed in a diaphanous dhoti falling in voluminous folds before the ankles, the cold-gilded face with an authoritative expression of arresting calm, detailed with downcast eyes below gently arched brows, centered by an urna, flanked by elongated earlobes suspending two circular earrings, the hair tied in a high chignon topped by a foliate finial behind the similarly paneled crown.

Provenance: A noted private collection France and thence by descent. Sotheby's Paris, 16 June 2022, lot 131, sold for EUR 138,600 or approx. EUR 150,000 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A private collection in France, acquired from the above.
Condition: Good overall condition with wear and casting irregularities consistent with age, including small gaps and holes, the largest measuring approx. 2.8 x 4.5 cm to the back of the base. Minor dents and dings throughout, with rubbing and flaking to the gilt, as well as small losses to attributes and remnants of pigment. Few stress cracks are visible to the neck and at the wrist of the lower right hand. Evidence of old lacquer restoration is present on the underside of the legs. The two tiara panels and the tip of the left crown tie are later replacements; a stabilized stress crack is visible at the base of the crown. Distinct remnants of ancient lacquer gilding are still apparent on the face and other areas, though most have naturally worn away over centuries. The surface bears a deep chocolate-brown patina with a lustrous shine—characteristic of a bronze sculpture dating back 600–700 years.

Weight: 8.1 kg
Dimensions: Height 56.2 cm

Often thought to have a western Tibetan origin, this type of early Tibetan sculpture is more likely to be from the central regions where the primary stylistic influence was the art of eastern India during the Pala period between the 8^th and 12^th centuries. Features in the Pala idiom include the tall crown panels, the necklace of pendant gems with an elaborate central jewel setting, and the fishtail scarf-ends of the crown- and belt-ties: compare the tall crown panels and necklace type of a ca. 12th century eastern Indian standing Buddha from Kurkihar, illustrated by Susan L. Huntington, The Pala-Sena Schools of Sculpture, Leiden, 1984, pl. 185.

The Pala influenced style seems to have been popular in Tibet from around the twelfth through the fourteenth century, about the same time period that strong eastern Indian influence is seen in central Tibetan painting. The bronzes in this style are mostly un-gilded, like their Indian antecedents. Central Tibetan sculpture after the fourteenth century is increasingly gilded in the Nepalese manner. The tall crown leaves, same type of necklace with large central element and gem-set pendants, and arm bands with beaded swags, all so typical of this early central Tibetan sculptural group, can be seen in a fourteenth century Vairochana formerly in the Berti Aschmann Collection and illustrated by Helmut Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zürich, 1995, p. 65, cat. 25 (see literature comparison below).

Shadakshari Lokeshvara, one of the thirty-one forms of Avalokiteshvara according to the Sadhanamala, is often regarded as the patron of Tibet and the progenitor of the Dalai Lama lineage. He is personified by the six syllable mantra of the Buddhists, 'Om mani padme hum'.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara with the face painted in cold gold, Tibet, dated to the 14th century, 40.3 cm high, illustrated in Ulrich Von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, Tibet & China, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 1180, fig. 317C. Compare a closely related figure of Vairocana, dated to the 14^th century, ca. 51 cm high, formerly in the Berti Aschmann Collection and now in the Museum Rietberg, inventory number BA 25.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie's Paris, 9 June 2021, lot 60
Price: EUR 200,000 or approx. EUR 228,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A bronze figure of Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Tibet, circa 15^th century
Expert remark: This figure of later date and related size (59 cm) depicts the same subject and shows a number of similar albeit slightly simplified features, such as the beading, petal, and foliate designs. The lacquer-gilt and painting to the face of this statue are most likely of a more recent date.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, lot 18
Price: HKD 1,125,000 or approx. EUR 143,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A copper inlaid brass alloy figure of Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari, Tibet, circa 13^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of casting, and subject with similar expression, jewelry, and base. Note the much smaller size (35 cm).

#expert video FAS1025