A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF CHAKRASAMVARA MONGOLIA, 18TH CENTURY

shown standing in pratiyalida and holding a vajra in each hand, engaged in union with Vajravarahi, she standing on one leg, the other wrapped around his waist, holding a curved knife in her outstretched hand and a cup in the other, he wearing a beaded sash and garlands of skulls and severed heads with an elephant-skin stretched over his back, trampling Kalaratri on the left and Bhairava on the right, both figures adorned in jewellery and a five-pointed crown with golden finials, all supported on a lotus base

Acquired in Mongolia in 1943, and thence by descent within the family. 

The figure is in overall good condition. There is loss of gilding particularly to the extremities and a few minor dents to the edge of the base, the foot of the figure and the back leg of Bhairava.
"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."

Striking for the sensitive modelling of the figures’ facial features, this piece depicts the Yidam Samvara in its Chakrasamvara manifestation, also known as Wheel of Supreme Bliss. The best known of the four Yidams of Vajrayana Buddhism, this manifestation of Samvara depicts the deity trampling over two figures, Kalaratri (‘Night of Time’), symbolic of nirvana, and Bhairava, representative of samsara, while embracing his prajña Vajravarahi, who wraps one of her legs around him. Samvara is shown wearing a tiger skin and garlands of human skulls and severed heads while holding a vajra and a ghanta, symbolic of enlightenment arising from emptiness. Chakrasamvara was worshipped in Tibet and Mongolia during the Qing dynasty as the deity was associated to the Kagyu order of Tibetan Buddhism.

Figures of Chakrasamvara in yab-yum are known both with multiple arms and heads, and with two arms, such as this piece. A gilt-bronze figure of a two-armed Chakrasamvara, in the Tibet Museum, Lhasa, is illustrated in Zhongguo Zangchuan Fojiao diaosu quanji [Complete series of Tibetan Buddhist sculpture in China],  vol. 3, Beijing, 2001, pl. 171, together with a multi-armed example attributed to the Ming dynasty, pl. 95. Another multi-armed figure of Chakrasamvara was sold at Christie’s London, 31st October 1972, lot 30; a much smaller example attributed to the 17th century, in the Museum Rietberg, Zürich, was included in the Museum’s exhibition On the Path to Enlightenment. The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zürich, Zürich, 1995, cat. no. 112; and another is illustrated in Mei Ninghua and Tao Xincheng, Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series. Buddhist Statues I, Beijing, 2001, pl. 172, together with a Ming dynasty example, pl. 107.