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Chakrasamvara 15th century Tibet
Attributable to the worksho…
See original version (French)
42
-
Chakrasamvara 15th century Tibet
Attributable to the worksho…
See original version (French)
Estimate €30,000 - €40,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Chakrasamvara
15th century Tibet
Attributable to the workshop/school of Sonam Gyaltsen
Gilded copper alloy 23 cm high
An important deity in the Lamaish pantheon, Chakrsamvara can take on dozens of different
forms, from the simplest to the most complex, depending on the tradition and school.
Here, he is traditionally depicted together with his female counterpart, Vajravarahi. With his
With his right foot, he crushes the chest of the red aspect of Kalaratri, and with his left, the head of Yama.
With his main hands, which embrace Vajravarahi, he holds the vajra and the bell.
two upper hands stretch an elephant skin over his back. The other eight hands
brandish a khatvanga, a kapala, a lasso, the four heads of Brahma, a trident, a kartrika
kartrika, an axe and a damaru. His waist is girded with a tiger skin. He has four heads
each adorned with a crown of five skulls. His bun is adorned with a vishvavajra,
a crescent moon and a jewel at the top. He wears a garland of skulls,
and a second of freshly cut heads.
Vajravarahi is coupled to him, her two legs folded around his waist, which makes it possible to
the traditions developed by the Luipa and Ganthapa mahasiddhas.
She is holding a kapala in her left hand and a vajra in her right instead of the usual kartrika.
This iconographic variation, probably based on a specific text, is attested to both in sculpture
sculpture and painting, for example:
HAR Items n° 1486 (Private collection), n° 18533 (Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond),
or no. 200500 (Tibet Museum - Alain Bordier Foundation, Gruyères).
In terms of its general aesthetic, the treatment of the jewellery and the main face of the god, this
sculpture is part of the reform movement in Tibetan aesthetics that seems to have emerged
which seems to have emerged in the 1430s. Some attribute this aesthetic change to an
artist named Sonam Gyaltsen, as his name appears on two major works,
a large Avalokiteshvara created for the monastery of Jamchen Chode in the province of
monastery in Tsang province (HAR item no. 61516) with a dedication to two leaders of the Rinpung clan and a Shri Devi from the seventh century.
a Shri Devi from the seventh Tashigomang of Densatil built in 1431-1432 (HAR item no. 1829).
It is interesting to note that this movement of artistic reform coincided perfectly
with the shift in political power between the declining Phagmodrupa dynasty and their
relatives and ministers of the Rinpungpa clan.
Provenance :
- Galerie Marco Polo (Paris)
- Acquired from the latter by its current owners on 7 October 1987
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits:
DIGARD AUCTION
See original version (French)
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