Footnotes

This engaging portrait, with a plump face, alert eyes, and a full head of short-cropped hair, is indicative of the style favored within the Tsang region of Central Tibet between the 14th-16th centuries. The robe's bold floral designs across his back are quite exceptional. Silver inlay calls attention to the incised lotus roundels in the palms of his hands and soles of his feet, marking a virtuous and enlightened being. The manner in which the bevy of robes spill over the upper edge of the base, with its single row of lotus petals, is similar to a portrait of Khetsun Zangpo Gyaltsen, published by Rossi & Rossi, Homage to the Holy, London, 2003, no.41. The facial type and technique of deeply incised lines to depict folds in the robe across his back are also seen on a Sakya lama sold by Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3280.

The lama is most likely a 15th-/16th-century Sakya teacher, although Jonang, Bodang, and Bulug lamas were also commonly depicted in this brassy, ungilded, and heavily incised Tsangri style. The four-line Tibetan inscription on the reverse of the sculpture's base only provides an abbreviated name to inform his identify as 'Yongdzin [Teacher] Choleg'. Translated, it reads:

"Dharma King and protector of all sentient beings,
Endowed with inconceivable wisdom, love, and power,
Dharma Lord, the source of all virtues and well-being,
To the feet of the teacher Choleg, I bow."

Bonhams is grateful to Himalayan Art Resources for their assistance with the translation of this lot.

Provenance
Leo Van der Veen Collection, Canada, before 1975
Thence by descent


銅錯銀喇嘛「確勒」 像
西藏，十六世紀
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網2430號
高23釐米（9英吋）

400,000-600,000港元

此尊喇嘛像面相豐滿、頭頂短髮、雙眼傳神 ，以十四至十六世紀西藏中部衛藏地區的風格呈現。僧袍衣褶飄逸流暢，佈滿後背的精細刻紋實為少有，藝術水平殊為上乘。錯銀工藝凸顯了上師手心與腳心的蓮花圓印，表明此人已修得正等正覺。僧袍鋪散於蓮座上緣，僅可見下排蓮瓣，此細節的處理與一尊克尊桑波堅贊像一致，參見Rossi & Rossi，Homage to the Holy，倫敦，2003年，41號。此尊造像的面部特徵以及背部以刻痕表現衣摺的做法與紐約邦翰斯於2017年3月14日售出的一尊薩迦喇嘛像（拍品3280號）極為相似。

該造像所描繪的很可能是一名十五至十六世紀間的薩迦派上師，儘管覺囊派、博東派和布規派喇嘛也經常以此種使用黃銅、不鎏金、多刻紋的衛藏風格來表現。造像底座背面刻有四行藏語銘文，簡單提到該喇嘛為「雍津[上師]確勒」。 銘文內容翻譯如下：

「法王與眾生的保護者，
賦予無量的智慧，愛與法力，
法王乃一切美德與福祉之源泉，
吾拜倒在上師確勒的腳下 。」

謹在此特別鳴謝喜馬拉雅藝術資源網協助翻譯此處銘文。

來源
Leo Van der Veen私人珍藏，加拿大，1975年以前
後由家族傳承