A BRONZE FIGURE OF A NAGARAJATIBET, 15TH CENTURY

the nagaraja kneeling with both arms raised in a supplicant position, wearing the five-pointed crown, with high ushnisha adorned with a finial and three naga heads, and long plaits cascading down the shoulders, the diaphanous dhoti, elaborate jewelry and armlets adorned with kirtimukha inlaid with colored glass and semi-precious stones, with traces of gilding throughout

Acquired privately, 1995. 

Wear and accretion overall, with traces of gilding throughout. Losses to original inlaid stones. Bending to the snake heads of crown, fingertips, toes and dhoti sash. Scattered areas of chipping and denting including dents at back of right and left shoulders, and back of right and left thighs. 5mm hole or casting flaw at back of right shoulder. Tangs at right knee and left foot, and lug at reverse.
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.
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This iconic bronze sculpture depicts a serpent king or nagaraja, the mythological guardian of the the water. The nagaraja, with the multi-headed serpent which emerges from the crown and the distinctive kneeling posture of supplication, must be considered one of the most emblematic and recognizable symbols from Densatil Monastery in Central Tibet. Traces of gilding and semi-precious stone inlay throughout the sculpture demonstrate that it was once richly embellished, both hallmarks of the Newari artisans who filled the Tibetan ateliers in the medieval period. 

At Densatil Monastery, a nagaraja such as the current work would have adorned a stupa or tashi gomang. Nagarajas populated the the lower or sixth tier of the stupa, together with sculptures depicting the Four Guardian Kings and dharmapalas or protectors. As Olaf Czaja notes, pairs of nagaraja would have been arranged in each of the four intermediate directions. The nagarajas raise their arms in their distinctive manner to support the enormous lotus flower which would have been above the sixth tier of the tashi gomang. For photographic references of the tashi gomang of Densatil with nagarajas in situ, see Olaf Czaja and Adriana Proser, Golden Visions of Densatil: A Tibetan Buddhist Monastery, New York, 2014, pp. 38-39.   

Compare the iconic modelling, dynamic posture use of inlaid stone with a circa fourteenth century Densatil nagaraja, see Jan van Alphen et al, Cast for Eternity: Bronze Masterworks from India and the Himalayas in Belgian and Dutch Collections, Antwerp, 2004, pp. 184-5, cat. no. 59.