TSEWANG RIGDZIN STATUETTE IN GILDED COPPER ALLOY WESTERN... Lot 27

TSEWANG RIGDZIN STATUETTE IN GILDED COPPER ALLOY WESTERN NEPAL, XVIII/XIXTH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4874 22.2 cm (8 3/4 in.) high Footnotes: A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF TSEWANG RIGDZIN WESTERN NEPAL, 18TH/19TH CENTURY 尼泊爾西部 十八/十九世紀 銅鎏金才旺仁增像 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s The Bon deity, Tsewang Rigdzin, is seated in a position of royal ease holding a wish fulfilling jewel and skullcup embracing his consort Nyima Obart. The consort is defined by a boar's head crown, and the couple are fronted by a prone corpse over a half lotus. Two lions flanking the throne cloth at the front, are in turn surrounded on both sides by a kyung and dragon. The base is sealed by an embossed plate bearing a swastika, a confirming symbol of the figure's Bon affiliation. As noted by Watt in discussion of a thangka of the same subject, 'This depiction and accompanying meditation practices and rituals arise from a Bon Revealed Treasure text discovered by Terton Bonzhig Yungdrung Lingpa (1346-1405) considered by many to be identical to the Buddhist Terton Dorje Lingpa' (HAR 65130). Compare with a small number of identified sculptures of this subject (see HAR 85599 & 330347). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com