A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE DEPICTING SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA Tibet, 14th Century

seated in vajraparyankasana on a double lotus throne, with tightly coiled curls and dome-shaped ushnisha, with inlaid turquoise urna and face with cold gilding, the right hand extended in bhumisparsha mudra and left hand in samadhi mudra, the sanghati with delicate beading and incised decorative motif along the hems which gather in a fan-shape between the feet

With cold gold and polychromy at face, neck and hair. Wear and accretion overall consistent with age. Slight indentation from lower neckline to proper left jawline with areas of resin and gold pigment. Indentation along proper left leg with areas of resin at join, where sculpture and base were reattached. Further technical analysis required to determine whether the base is associated with the figure. Base plate intact.
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This superb sculpture of Shakyamuni Buddha is a testament to the powerful legacy of the Newari aesthetic imported into Tibet from the Kathmandu Valley in the medieval period. Displaying tremendous power and presence, this figure demonstrates the marriage of classical Nepalese and Tibetan sculptural elements in its luxuriant gilding, elegant beading and engraving, the cold gilding of the face and use of polychromy, and delicate use of inlay of semi-precious stones.

This powerful and iconic bronze depicting Shakyamuni Buddha in the earth-touching gesture or bhumisparsha mudra recalls the moment of his Enlightenment, in which he called upon the earth as his witness. The Nepalese influence is strongly demonstrated in the wide forehead with straight hairline, the gilt domed ushnisha, inlaid urna, the short neck, the broad and muscular shoulders with torso narrowing to a defined waist.

Compare the elegant hem, drape and twist of the Buddha’s sanghati along the upper arm and body with left shoulder exposed, with fourteenth century bronzes from the Nepalese school in Tibet, see. U. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. II, p. 962—3, figs. 231A and 231C. The pedestal style with strings of large spherical pearls running above and below the full and rounded lotus petals with a complex and elegant flourish at their tips confirms the fourteenth century attribution.

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 12930