A RARE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF A BUDDHIST HIERARCH TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

seated in vajraparyankasana on an animal skin atop a double-lotus throne, the right hand raised before the chest in vitarkamudra and the left lowered holding a book, both holding curved stems of utpala or lotus which rise above the shoulders, each supporting a small flaming mandorla, cloaked in a robe with voluminous folds, the face with a meditative expression

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 68469

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1996-2005, on loan.
The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, October-December 1999.
Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, June-September 2004.
Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005-2017, on loan.
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2012-2013.

David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, fig 49.
Franco Ricca, Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Turin, 2004, fig. 50.

Good overall condition. Wear to gilding throughout, particularly to face. Both niches atop lotus petals at proper right and left now empty. Baseplate intact. Minor bending to antelope skin appendages on throne base.
"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."

The Nyingjei Lam Collection contains a wide array of Tibetan portrait sculpture from the twelfth through seventeenth century. Without inscriptions or distinctive characteristics, it is often a challenge to accurately identify these figures. In the current work, the empty niches within flaming mandorlas atop the two lotus flowers may have held miniature deities or lamas, a rare and wonderful devotional element which may have held the key to identifying this person or lineage of this unnamed hierarch.