Bodhisattva Northeast India, ca. 8°-9° centuries Copper... Lot 120

Bodhisattva Northeast India, ca. 8°-9° centuries Copper alloy. H. 13 cm Very rare representation of a bodhisattva seated on a lotus resting on a pedestal in an attitude of relaxation (maharajalilasana). He is making a gesture of giving with his right hand while holding a fruit or a jewel, and his left hand is holding the stem of a lotus which is blooming above his shoulder while supporting a makara head. The backrest of the throne is open, and a large nimbus unfolds around his head. The only other representation of a bodhisattva using this iconography is more or less contemporary with this one. It is a 15.24 cm sculpture discovered in Acutrajpur and preserved in the Bhubaneshwar Museum in Odisha, reproduced by Thomas E. Donaldson in his book "Iconography of the Buddhist Sculpture of Orissa" Abhinav Publications, 2001 Vol.2 Fig 161. He classifies it among the unidentified bodhisattvas, but in studying later Japanese versions of the Vajradhatu-mandala, he points out that the makara would be associated with the bodhisattva Ragavajra (Jap. Ai.kong.) one of the four "vajra-bodhisattva" constituting the first circle around Vajrasattva. He is described as holding a pennant with a makara on it. "As the "diamond of love" he would embody attachment or greedy affection which, when seen with the eye of knowledge, is identical to the compassion of the buddhas and bodhisattvas, compassion being the bodhicitta which manifests itself in the desire to help and liberate all beings. He therefore considers it possible, given the popularity of the Vajradhatu-mandala in Odisha, that the Acutrajpur bronze may represent Ragavajra (Aikongo), the original Sanskrit text with its iconography being lost. This work is accompanied by a thermoluminescence analysis of the core performed by QED Laboratory confirming the dating as of November 8, 2012 Provenance: - French private collection. Reportedly acquired from Robert Rousset (Cie de la Chine et des Indes) Paris, in the 1960s-1970s. - French private collection. Acquired from the above-mentioned collection in the 1980s - Acquired from the latter by its current owner.