Important gilt copper and silver butter lamp,... Lot 102

Important gilt copper and silver butter lamp, the conical base decorated with animated scenes and surrounded by a frieze of skulls. The central part in silver (?) in the shape of a vase of life containing the elixir of immortality to which skeletons hang in the direction of the four cardinal points. The cup with its flared rim is decorated with animated scenes, skulls and skeletons. The open lid in the centre is decorated with heads and offerings in repoussé, the rims enhanced with ritual objects. Tibet, 19th century. Height: 88.3 cm Provenance: Private European collection. Christie's, New York, 23 September 2004, lot 91. Exhibitions: London, SPINK and Son, Ltd, The Mirror of Mind, Art of Vajrayana Buddhism, June 1995. Madrid, Fundacion "La Caixa", Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, November 2000 - January 2001. Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Museum of Art ; Columbus, Columbus Museum of Art, The Circle of Bliss, Buddhist Meditational Art, October 2003 - May 2004. Bibliography: SPINK and Son, Ltd, The Mirror of Mind, Art of Vajrayana Buddhism, London 1995, exhibition catalogue pp. 76-77, ill. N°47. Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Fundacion "La Caixa", Madrid, 2000, exhibition catalogue p.111, ill. N°30. J. HUNTINGTON and D. BANGDEL, The Circle of Bliss : Buddhist Meditational Art, Serindia Publications, Chicago, 2003, pp. 370-372 and ill. N°109.