A MAGNIFICENT AND EXTREMELY FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF VAJRADHARA MARK AND PERIOD OF YONGLE

seated in vajraparyankasana, with both hands crossed in prajnalinganabhinayamudra clasping avajra and ghanta, wearing an eight leaf crown enclosing the high scrolling chignon set with acintamani finial, the meditative face with crisply cast features, framed by large wheel-shaped earrings, wearing extravagant beaded jewellery and belt, a dhoti and a scarf draped across the shoulders and off the arms, supported by a double lotus pedestal inscribed Da Ming Yongle nian shi, the base engraved with a visvavajra

The Speelman Collection.
Sotheby's Hong Kong, 7th October 2006, lot 811.

The piece is in excellent condition with only very minor occasional traces of wear to the original gilding on the extremities. The base plate is intact.
"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."

Vajradhara is considered to be the embodiment of all Buddhist Wisdom, the teacher of all Tantras. He is the Adi Buddha, Primordial Enlightened Being, related to the seminal teachings of the Sakya order and the Karma Kagyu order, two Tibetan Buddhist denominations that had significant influence in the court of Chengzu, the Yongle Emperor. Thus, fitting iconography for a sculpture perhaps intended as an imperial gift to a hierarch of either order. Official accounts, in particular the court record of daily events, Xizang shiliao, document numerous imperial gifts to Tibetan lamas, and to their temples and monasteries in the Chinese capital and Tibet. An entry in the Xizang shiliao on the eighth day of the fourth month of the female fire pig year, 1407, records that the emperor had a vision of his spiritual mentor the Fifth Karmapa, head of the Karma Kagyu order, Dezhin Shegpa (De), “….Chengzu sees the figure of De blazing like the sun, one span high … has an image made according to his vision and gives it to De …”, see Karmay, 1975, pp. 77-8. Tibetan religious leaders were often perceived as manifestions of deities, so the emperor’s vision of his religious mentor may well have been in the guise of say Vajradhara, the spiritual progenitor of Dezhin Shegpa’s Kagyu order, and his gift a gilt bronze very much like this one span high Vajradhara with the golden colour of the blazing sun. Four very similar Yongle period gilt bronzes of Vajradhara are recorded, all now in Tibetan monastery collections, illustrated by Ulrich, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, von Schroeder, pp. 1250-1, pls. 343A-E.