Tibet. The four-legged Hevajra striding in pratyalidhasana together with his separately cast consort Nairatmya over two prostrated figures atop a double-lotus base, two kneeling figures behind them. Both deities wearing elaborate belts with beaded festoons, garlands of severed heads and skull tiaras. The wrathful guardian with eight heads and sixteen radiating arms, holding sixteen skull cups, with eight containing animals representing the Eight Diseases and the other eight containing deities representing the accomplished relief of each disease.

Provenance: Schoettle Ostasiatica, Stuttgart, Germany, 10 November 1977. Collection of Leopold Strasser (1919-2010), Munich, acquired from the above, and thence by descent in the same family to the present owner. Old collector’s number ‘8683’ written in black to the interior of the base. Copies of the original invoice, dated 11 November 1977, stating a purchase price of DM 9,290 (for the present lot as well as a ‘Mongolian necklace’), and a signed and stamped expertise, describing the present lot as a Tibetan gilt bronze of Hevajra from the 17^th-18^th century, both from Schoettle Ostasiatica, accompany this lot.
Condition: Good condition with general wear, some casting irregularities, remnants of polychrome pigments, inlays lost, minor old repairs, small nicks and light scratches here and there, the base unsealed with old soldering to the interior (the figure cannot be removed from the base), all well visible on additional images on www.zacke.at.

Weight: 1,132 g
Dimensions: Height 20 cm

This superbly modeled bronze portrays Hevajra and his consort embraced in a perfectly unified cosmic dance. Hevajra is a principal meditational deity of the high Anuttarayoga Tantras. His consort, Nairatmya, is a tantric form of Prajnaparamita, the Mother of all Buddhas. Together they dance passionately, transcending disease, and bestowing health and good fortune on the devotee.

The gilded sculpture's slender physiognomy and treatment of regalia are inspired by the work of Sonam Gyaltsen and were likely produced by a follower working within his artistic tradition. Sonam Gyaltsen is a recently identified Tibetan master artist who was active around 1430 CE.

Literature comparison: Compare with another gilt bronze Hevajra in Sakya Monastery, Shigatse, Central Tibet, attributed by Watt to Sonam Gyaltsen or his atelier (Himalayan Art Resources item no. 31935). The tight formation of Hevajra’s neatly arranged arms is similar to that of a gilt bronze Hevajra in the Musée Guimet, Paris (Himalayan Art Resources item no. 85922).

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related but slightly earlier gilt copper alloy figure of Hevajra and Nairatmya, dated to the 15^th-16^th century and with replaced turquoise inlays, at Bonhams Hong Kong in Images of Devotion on 7 October 2019, lot 931, sold for HKD 1,063,125.

十七至十八世紀銅鎏金喜金剛及明妃像
西藏，四腿喜金剛脚踩兩個惡魔，與其明妃站立在雙層蓮座上相擁起舞。明妃與喜金剛可拆分。身後有兩個跪著的人影。 喜金剛與明妃都係著精美的腰帶，上面飾有串珠花彩、頭戴花環和骷髏頭飾。憤怒神有八個頭和十六只手臂，持有十六個頭骨杯，其中頭骨杯盛裝著八種動物代表八種疾病，另外八個杯子裏盛裝著八個神明，代表脫離八種疾病。

來源：Schoettle Ostasiatica藝廊，德國斯圖加特，1977年11月10日。慕尼黑Leopold Strasser (1919-2010)收藏，購於上述收藏，保存在同一家族直至現任藏家。底座内黑色顔料書寫的藏家收藏編號 ‘8683’。隨附1977年11月11日的購買收據複件，價格為9,290 馬克(此拍品與一件蒙古項鏈)；一份簽名並蓋章的關於此造像為十七至十八世紀西藏銅鎏金喜金剛的説明。兩份文件都出自Schoettle Ostasiatica藝廊。
品相： 品相良好，一般磨損，局部鑄造不規則，彩色顏料的餘留，鑲嵌物遺失，小的舊時維修，小刻痕和輕微划痕，底座未密封，內部舊焊料（無法從底座上取下），更多圖片可見 www.zacke.at。

重量：1,132 克
尺寸：高20 厘米

這件造型精美的喜金剛與其明妃造像製作精美，相擁起舞。喜金剛為密宗無上瑜伽續之重要本尊。其明妃為無我佛母，為眾佛之母般若波羅蜜多菩薩之密宗形象。喜金剛與明妃熱情起舞，為觀者消除病痛，並賜以安康與財富。

這座造像的纖瘦頎長的身形與珠寶裝飾皆受到了索南堅贊作品風格的啟發，很可能是其傳人製作。 索南堅贊（Sonam Gyaltsen）是一位近期學術界發現的藏族藝術大師，活躍於公元 1430 年前後。

文獻比較：另一件西藏薩迦寺中的銅鎏金喜金剛，傳爲索南堅贊或其工作坊 (Himalayan Art Resources item no. 31935)。 喜金剛手臂配列細密，與吉美美術舘的一件銅鎏金喜金剛相似 (Himalayan Art Resources item no. 85922)。

拍賣結果比較：一件相近但更早期的喜金剛與明妃銅鎏金造像，十五至十六世紀，鑲嵌的綠松石已丟失，見香港邦翰思 Images of Devotion 2019年10月7日 lot 931, 售價HKD 1,063,125。