A LARGE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF PADMASAMBHAVA TIBET, 15TH – 16TH CENTURY

cast seated in vajraparyankasana on a double lotus pedestal, the right hand supporting a kapala and the three flaming jewels, the left arm raised wielding a vajra, wearing a cloak incised with Buddhist treasures and floral bands, the face with a stern look flanked by pendulous earrings, all surmounted by a monk's cap, the sealed base incised with a double vajra

This charismatic work depicts the legendary Indian pandita Padmasambhava, known as Guru Rinpoche to Tibetans. Padmasambhava is recognisable by the iconic peaked Indian cap of a pandita, surmounted with feathers and adorned with a sun and moon, as well as his furrowed brow and the wide, almond-shaped eyes which set him apart as a foreigner. He is depicted holding a vajra in his raised right hand and a kapala in the left hand. His ears are adorned with disk-shaped earrings with a foliate motif, and he wears richly embroidered inner and outer patchwork robes, and pointed Tibetan-style boots.  

Known by many different names which reflect his multiple forms, Padmasambhava is credited with establishing Buddhism in Tibet. In the eighth century, the Indian abbot Shantarakshita and the Tibetan chögyal or dharma king Trisong Detsen invited the tantrika Padmasambhava to make the arduous journey to Tibet.

Along the way, he encountered and subdued the many local spirits, gods and goddesses and bound them by oath as sworn protectors and protectresses of Buddhism in Tibet. Upon his arrival in Tibet, Padmasambhava subdued the local spirits hindering the contruction of Tibet's first monastery, Samye.

Compare a circa 15th century Padmasambhava formerly in the Blanche C. Olschak Collection, see Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 449, pl. 122C.