AN OUTSTANDING AND EXTREMELY RARE GILT-BRONZE DANCING FIGURE OF TARA PITTI UDDIYANA INCISED MARK AND PERIOD OF XUANDE

dancing in pratyalidhasana and balancing on the left foot atop a crescent moon emerging from the utpala flower, the right foot raised with the sole of the foot exposed, with eight arms, the principle hands holding a vajra and ghanta, the auxillary hands folding a khadga sword, a blood-filled kapala, damaru drum, a khatvanga, and triratna flaming jewels on a slender stem, each of the four faces depicted with a third eye, the figure further adorned with panchamudra jewellery, her taut body bejewelled with beaded chains covering her chest and an elaborate beaded girdle suspending jewelled sashes worn over a tiger-skin skirt, her shoulders further draped with a garland of severed human heads, all upon a single lotus pedestal, inscribed with a six-character reign mark, the base engraved with a vishvavajra

The Vérité collection, by repute.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 8th April 2010, lot 1859.

The overall condition is very good with only several minor breaks. There is a break to the long sash over the right knee, one of the implements held in the second auxilliary left hand is missing and a missing tassle hanging from the belt. Otherwise the condition is very good with ample gilding and red pigment remaining. The base has been opened and the consecration materials have been removed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Dancing Vajrayogini
David Weldon

The goddess Vajrayogini is of supreme importance in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon, and the very essence of the Chakrasamvara tantra. In this rare and exquisite Xuande bronze the crescent moon on which she dances represents Chakrasamvara. She takes Samvara's ritual implements, the ghanta and vajra, as her principal emblems embodying Wisdom and Compassion, the fundamental combination at the heart of the tantra. Here the goddess is as one with Chakrasamvara and indeed represents the tantra in its purest form.

The Yongle court had perhaps a higher profile in its relationship with Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism than the Xuande, but this exceptional sculpture offers a rare insight into the commitment of the Xuande court to patronage of Tibetan Buddhist practice at the highest spiritual level. Such is the esoteric nature of Vajrayogini that she is rarely portrayed in comparison with other tantric deities, especially in such a complex eight-armed and four-headed form. There does not seem to be any Himalayan bronze in this manifestation recorded in Tibetan monasteries or private collections. However, a rare Yongle bronze Naro Dakini, a more commonly seen manifestation of Vajrayogini, provides evidence of the cult of the goddess in early Ming China, Van Alphen, Cast for Eternity, Antwerp, 2004, p. 217. A fine early Ming painting of Naro Dakini further confirms this devotion, Casey et al, Divine Presence, Barcelona, 2003, pl. 52.

Thus the iconography contributes to our understanding of the Xuande period and the extent of the court's involvement with Tibetan Buddhism. Until now the body of work known from the Xuande court workshops is relatively limited in its range of iconography, especially compared with that of the Yongle, and primarily comprised of sculptures of Buddha and bodhisattvas. The relatively small number of documented Xuande bronzes seems to corroborate official accounts that make no mention of the bestowal of images on Tibetan hierarchs during the Xuande, as happened so frequently in the Yongle period. Xuande bronzes were probably commissioned more for Buddhist temples in China, as suggested by the relatively high number remaining in Beijing repositories and the very few in Tibetan monastery collections. The generally large scale of Xuande bronzes is indeed appropriate for temple worship, whereas the smaller size of many Yongle bronzes suggests the more intimate purpose of gift bestowal. Perhaps all the smaller Yongle works were the personal gifts of the emperor to the Tibetan hierarchs, as described in the records. If smaller works were made as gifts and larger works were for temple settings, it may further explain why there are no small-scale Xuande bronzes, as no personal bestowals are recorded in the Xuande. Indeed the relatively large size of the Vajrayogini statue seems to confirm this trend. Notwithstanding the apparently reduced patronage in the Xuande period, the charm and quality of this Vajrayogini confirms that the emperor retained sculptors every bit as inspired as those in the employ of the Yongle court.

The exceptional quality of this sculpture is particularly noteworthy, being one of the finest of the known Xuande statues, which are often perceived to be more restrained than those of the preceding Yongle reign. The Vajrayogini belies this notion with vigorous movement and the inventive way that the artist has found to portray the rare iconography. She dances with such poise on her crescent moon being cradled in the petals of an utpala lily. This use of the flower, a symbol of the goddess Tara, is quite unique in imperial Ming works. Her four radiant faces exude an air of calm and composure amidst the motion of the eight arms surrounding her. As with all early Ming period imperial Buddhist sculpture where the deity is cast separately from the pedestal, the body of the deity, as well as the pedestal, is consecrated and the sanctified materials sealed in by means of a small rectangular plate in the middle of the back: as is the case with the only other recorded Xuande deities in a dancing posture, the two bodhisattvas previously in the Speelman Collection, sold in these rooms, 7th October 2006, lot 805. The casting and gilding of this lovely and animated image of Vajrayogini is flawless, as is to be expected for such a masterpiece from the command of the Xuande Emperor.

Sotheby's would like to thank Jeff Watt for his help with the iconographic identification and insight into the tantric practice surrounding Vajrayogini.
____________________________________________________________________

The collection of Pierre and Suzanne Vérité was famous for its assemblage of tribal art, mostly from Africa and islands in the Pacific Ocean. Pierre and Suzanne Vérité opened their gallery in Paris in the 1930s, and it was frequented by the likes of Paul Guillaume, Charles Ratton, Pierre Loeb and André Portier, alongside members of the Parisian avant-garde – the Surrealists Paul Eluard, André Breton and Tristan Tzara – and the international avant-garde, including Helena Rubinstein and James J. Sweeney.