An important Tibetan bronze figure of Vajrasattva with inscription to the base. 15th/16th century
The finely cast Buddha Vajrasattva is adorned with a meticulous rendering of jewels and luxurious garments, seated on a double-lotus throne of crisp lotus petals that continue seamlessly in the round. With a lengthy Tibetan inscription around the foot of the base. The base sealed and incised with a double-vajra.
Height 18.6 cm
The stylistic features of the present figure pay clear homage to Yongle Buddhist bronzes that started to arrive in Tibet by the second decade of the 15th century. Included among diplomatic gifts to major monastic enclaves in Central Tibet, flawlessly cast Yongle bronzes inspired emulation among Tibetan artists, often working in a local preference for non-gilded bronze, for which the present lot is a consummate example. Note the similarity between the present lot and a Yongle bronzes of Vajrasattva published in: Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong 1981, p. 516, no.144A.
Not intended as outright copies, these Tibetan emulations typically exhibit local adaptations of some features, such as the face of the present figure which has a typical Tibetan tapered outline and Tibetan features. Other examples of Tibetan emulations that show similar adaption include a Vajradhara sold at Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 2018, lot 1045; a Syamatara illustrated in: Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong 1981, p. 477, no.132D.
西藏十五/十六世紀
重要銅金有銘文剛菩薩坐像
本尊的造型特徵明顯是對永樂時期青銅器的致敬，可比：烏爾裡希．馮．施羅德著，《Indo-Tibetan Bronzes》，香港，1981年，頁516，圖版144A
西藏永樂青銅器絕非是對中國作品的純粹模仿。它們融合了典型的地方特色。 可比：紐約蘇富比的金剛持像，2018年3月22日，拍品編號1045及綠度母像錄入 ：烏爾裡希．馮．施羅德著，《Indo-Tibetan Bronzes》，香港，1981年，頁477，圖版132D
來源：德國南部私人收藏
Provenance
Private property, Southern Germany