Lot 3118
  • 3118

A BRONZE FIGURE OF A MAHASIDDHA, POSSIBLY PADAMPA SANGYE TIBET, 12TH CENTURY

Estimate
120,000 - 180,000 HKD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Bronze
seated in vajraparyankasana on a throne, the hands raised to the chest in dharmachakramudra, wearing a dhoti tied at the waist, the face with round eyes, between highly arched brows and a tightly curled beard, flanked by pierced pendulous earlobes, the hair in plaited rows falling behind the shoulders
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 68304

Exhibited

Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 2002-2005, on loan.
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.

Condition

Good overall condition. With wear and accretion throughout, and minor losses to bronze at base reverse. Casting aperture at back of head with consecration materials visible.
"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."

Catalogue Note

The captivating and slightly wild figure depicted in the current work has tentatively been identifed as Padampa Sangye, the eleventh century Indian mahasiddha credited with the propagation of the Chöd tradition within Tibet. Depictions of Padampa Sangye in sculpture and painting often portray him his hands in dharmachakramudra, and with unruly curls and long plaits down the length of his back, reminiscent of the matted locks of Shaivite yogis.

Compare the distinctive hairstyle and beard in the current work with a contemporaneous bronze figure depicting Padampa Sangye also from the Nyingjei Lam Collection, see Jane Casey Singer and David Weldon, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, pp. 154-155, pl. 31; as well as a thirteenth/fourteenth century thangka depicting Padampa Sangye also with hands in dharmachakramudra from the Stuart Cary Welch Collection sold in our London rooms, 31st May 2011, lot 85 (fig. 1).

In addition to the similarities in hairstyle, the presentation of the figure with rounded eyes, barechested and clad only in a dhoti, all atypical for ethnically Tibetan figures, further supports the attribution as the Indian mahasiddha Padampa Sangye.