A large gilt-copper repoussé figure of Padmasambhava, Himalayan regions, 18th century | 喜馬拉雅地區 十八世紀 鎏金銅錘疊蓮花生大師坐像

The Indian tantric master wears his characteristic cap with upturned lappets, a feather finial and sun and moon symbol at the front. He is dressed in voluminous robes, with a cloud collar and boots, and holds his customary ritual implements, skull cup (kapala), diamond sceptre (vajra) and ritual staff (khatvanga). The head, hands and khatvanga are cast in copper and gilded, with the robes and lotus flower pedestal in gilt copper repoussé. The elaborate curlicued style of petals on Padmasambhava’s pedestal are often, though not exclusively, seen in Bhutanese sculpture, see Terese Tse Bartholomew and John Johnston, eds., The Dragon’s Gift: The Sacred Arts of Bhutan, Serindia Publications, 2008, cat. nos. 12, 24, 26, 33, 36, 50, 57, 58. Padmasambhava, the “Lotus Born”, or Guru Rimpoche as he is commonly known in Tibetan, is revered throughout the Himalayas. Whether made for a Bhutanese, Tibetan, or a patron from other Himalayan regions such as the Nepalese/Tibetan borders, the artist was almost certainly Newar, the acknowledged masters of repoussé metalwork.