AN IMPORTANT PARCEL-GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI, TIBET, 13TH-14TH CENTURY

Published & Exhibited: Andrea Loiseries-Leick, Kunst aus dem Himalaya, Teppich-Haus Reinisch, Graz, 11 June-15 July 1988, p. 14 and p. 53, no. P/3 (dated 14^th-16^th century).

Superbly cast seated in vajrasana atop a beaded double-lotus base, his right hand lowered in bhumisparsha mudra and the right held in dhyana mudra above the lap. The folds of his robe drape naturally around his lithe body and gather in a fan-shaped pleat, the hems delicately incised with double lines and geometric patterns. The face exquisitely modeled in a serene expression marked by sinuously lidded downcast silver-inlaid eyes below similarly curved brows centered by a raised square urna, aquiline nose, and red-painted bow-shaped lips forming a subtle smile, flanked by elongated earlobes. The blue hair arranged in tight curls over the tall ushnisha topped by a bud-shaped finial.

The base re-sealed with a wood plate, containing various sacred contents and textiles within.

Provenance: Collection of Dr. Andrea Loseries-Leick, Austria. Teppich-Haus Reinisch, Graz, Austria, 1988. The collection of Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Gudrun Thaler-Szulyovsky, acquired from the above and thence by descent in the same family. Dr. Andrea Seabury Loseries (née Leick) studied Tibetology, Buddhist studies, art history, museology, and ethnology in Paris, West Bengal, and Vienna. In addition to regular specialist publications and lectures at international conferences, she works as a Tibetan interpreter and translator, and as an expert on Asian studies. Dr. Andrea curated several exhibitions on Tibetan art and initiated the Dalai Lama's first visit to Graz. Every year, she produces expert descriptions for the Tibetan thangka calendar. Dr. Ferdinand and Dr. Gudrun Thaler-Szulyovsky, who had both been practicing law, met in 1967 through their mutual passion for art. Together they built a substantial and diverse art collection over many decades.
Condition: Overall good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, light warping, few dents, minute nicks, minor shallow cracks, few minuscule losses, signs of fire damage, losses to gilding, remnants of varnish, old soldering marks.

Weight: 5.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 38.8 cm

The present image of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, is a paragon of the Tibetan sculptural tradition. The Buddha is seated in vajrasana, the classical diamond posture, recalling the seminal moment when he attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya where the Mahabodhi Temple now stands. With his right hand, he touches the ground in the gesture of bhumisparsha mudra, asking the earth to bear witness to the truth of his teachings. His elongated earlobes, weighed down by the heavy earrings of his former princely life, represent his rejection of worldly goods. His simple robe, stitched from a patchwork of scraps, leaves his right shoulder bare, the custom of Buddhist monks in South and Southeast Asia when paying respect to a venerated holy site.

The appealing proportions of the chest and head are complemented by a skillfully modeled lotus bud rising from the ushnisha. These features, combined with the distinctive base, point to a close relationship with the Pala style. These similarities with Indian traditions suggest the figure was made in Tibet during or shortly after the period when contact with Indian artists was the principal source of inspiration for Tibetan sculpture and painting. Tibetan bronzes after the fourteenth century are increasingly modeled and gilded in the Nepalese manner.

The gilding at the face is applied in the 'cold gold' technique, which could involve the direct application of gold leaf to the surface, or more commonly in Tibet, the blending of gold dust or gold leaf with a binder into a ubiquitous lacquer solution, and then painting the amalgam onto the surface. This technique is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Tibetan metalworking of that time and region. The heavy application of gold to the face, and the traces of gold elsewhere on the body, indicate the importance of the present statue in Buddhist ritual.

Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related Tibetan copper alloy figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated to the 15^th century, 31 cm high, in the Rubin Museum of Art, object number C2001.13.3. Compare a closely related brass figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated 13^th-14^th century, supported on an altar probably of later date, illustrated in the Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Buddhist Statues of Tibet, vol. 60, 1998, p. 160-161, no. 153.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 December 2020, lot 1009
Price: HKD 752,500 or approx. EUR 89,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A silver and copper inlaid copper alloy figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, Tibet, 13^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, and manner of casting. Note the much smaller size (31.8 cm).

Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 16 June 2022, lot 49
Price: EUR 315,000 or approx. EUR 340,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important silver and copper inlaid copper-alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha Tibet, circa 13th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, modeling, and manner of casting, with similar facial features, earlobes, and bud finial. Note the much larger size (64.8 cm).