A COPPER AND SILVER-INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRASATTVA TIBET, 12TH – 13TH CENTURY

seated in vajraparyankasana on a double-lotus base, the right hand raised in holding an upright vajra, the lowered left hand holding a ghanta at the waist, wearing a dhoti fastened at the waist with a beaded girdle and adorned with elaborate jewellery, the face with a silver urna and benevolent expression, below a silver-inlaid figure of Amitabha Buddha resting on the headdress, two addorsed elephants incised at the reverse

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 68317

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.

Good overall condition. With wear and accretion throughout. Minor losses including crown leaf at reverse; shawl tips above the proper left ear and also proper right hip; lug notch at throne reverse; and on either side of the thighs. 1mm holes at back of head; sides of throne and throne reverse. Baseplate sealed and likely not original.
"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."

Sensitively modelled with gentle face and slender torso, the bronze lustrously patinated and heightened with copper inlay to the glorious, large crown and silver inlay to the urna, eyes and Amitabha figure, Vajrasattva gazes directly at the viewer with meditative equipoise.

The extant crown sash and delicate rosettes above the ears bear traces of polychromy and cold gold remnants fleck the neck and ears, as this elegant figure would have been painted and given a layer of gilding to the face sometime after its creation. The dhoti and upper shawl are incised with a scrolling geometric motif which mirrors the scrolling design of the tall headdress. Evidence of a lug at the reverse of the bronze, between the addorsed elephants, suggests that this delightful figure may have originally had a larger repoussé mandorla. 

The large and commanding crown of Vajrasattva, the height of which is larger than the head, and which wraps around the head completely obscuring the jatamukata within, has precedents in late Licchavi bronze sculpture, see a bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara in Ulrich von Schroder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pp. 312-313, cat. no. 78E.