STATUETTE DE DIVINITÉ EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ... Lot n° 23

STATUETTE DE DIVINITÉ EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ D'UN MANDALA DE CHAKRASAMVARA TIBET, XVE/XVIE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4608 23 cm (9 in.) high Footnotes: A GILT COPPER ALLOY RETINUE FIGURE FROM A CHAKRASAMVARA MANDALA TIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY 西藏 十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金神祇像 出自勝樂金剛壇城 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s This lively retinue figure was once part of a larger iconographic program featuring Chakrasamvara in union with his consort Vajravarahi. Standing in a wide lunge and crowned with a diadem, she acts as both a guardian and transmitter of secret tantric doctrine. She is naked with cascading red hair, holding ritual implements of a hooked knife, skullcup, drum, and the outline of a khatvanga and wears a garland of skulls around her body in a fierce portrayal. Her ornamental jewelry of earrings and bracelets, with strands of beaded chains and jeweled sashes draping her body evoke her esteemed position within the highest realms of tantric teachings. Having overcome the limits of ego and ignorance, she stands victorious over a prostrate figure, whose left hand and hair spill across the edge of the base. This four-armed iconographic form is associated with the four goddesses, or dakinis, surrounding Chakrasamvara of which in paintings are differentiated by colors including red, green, yellow, red, and which are related to the four cardinal directions. Another dakini of similar size and style is published in the Hung Foundation Collection (Hung & Hung, The Beauty of Himalayan Arts, 2019, p. 200). For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com Very good condition overall, with obvious partial loss to the khatvanga staff, as is visible in images. There are repairs to casting flaws behind her proper left thigh and her proper right knee at the time of production. There is also a later repair to the tripartite swag, with adhesive under UV light. Faint nicks and scratches intermittently throughout. Remains of cold gold in the face, orange pigment in the hair, white pigment in the eyes and teeth, and red pigment in the lips. There is an undisturbed consecration plate on her proper right backside. Please contact Sidney Lee (sidney.lee@bonhams.com) for related condition report images.