A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Ratnasambhava, Tibet, Style of Densatil, 14th/15th Century

Auction Closed

September 20, 05:33 PM GMT

Estimate

50,000 - 70,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

Property From a Private San Francisco Collection

A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Ratnasambhava

Tibet, Style of Densatil, 14th/15th Century

Height 11¼ in. (28.6 cm)

the Buddha seated in dhyanasana, his face showing a benign expression with eyes tilted down in meditation, with an urna at the center of the forehead, elongated earlobes, the hair with snail shell curls topped with an ushnisha, wearing a sanghati draping over the left shoulder with the hem incised with a foliate pattern, the fingers of the right hand extend in the characteristic gesture of generosity, seated atop a double lotus throne

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13061.

This imposing Tibetan gilt bronze represents Ratnasambhava, one of the Five Symbolic Tantric Buddhas described in the ancient anuttarayoga literature. The Buddha is identified by the open palm of the right hand facing outward in a gesture of charity (varada mudra). The sculpture dates from the fourteenth or early fifteenth century and is modelled in Nepalese style with the diaphanous robe clinging to the muscular body: compare the seated unadorned Buddhas made by Newar craftsmen seen in photographs of Densatil monastery taken by P. F. Mele in 1948, see O. Czaja and A. Proser, Golden Visions of Densatil, New York, 2014, pp. 18-19. A jagged hole in the flat section at the back of the lotus base suggests that a tang has broken off that would have once protruded horizontally to affix the statue to a larger setting, as seen on statues that once adorned the tashi gomang stupas at Densatil. The flat section at the back of the base facilitates a flush joint at its temple location. Compare the slim, multiple lotus petal style of the pedestal with examples from Densatil such as a fourteenth or fifteenth century Akshobhya in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, ibid, pp. 134-45, cat. no. 30.