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A COPPER INLAID IRON AND BRASS ALLOY BON PURBHA TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY image 1
A COPPER INLAID IRON AND BRASS ALLOY BON PURBHA TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY image 2
Lot 3005

A COPPER INLAID IRON AND BRASS ALLOY BON PURBHA
TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY

Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art
19 March 2018, 15:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$10,000 inc. premium

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A COPPER INLAID IRON AND BRASS ALLOY BON PURBHA

TIBET, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY
The mounted iron tripartite blade enhanced with separately cast copper alloy sheets along its edges adding greater width.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61573
15 in. (38 cm) long

Footnotes

西藏 約十三世紀 苯教金剛橛

Inlaid deposits of iron skillfully embellish this uninhibited casting. The absence of a vajra-grip is a key indicator of a Bon purbha that distinguishes the present example from more common Buddhist examples. Similar to a Bon purbha recently sold by Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2016, lot 5, the pommel transitions from makara head, to a knot of immutability, to a three-sided figure holding a purbha of either brass, copper, or iron, to a double-sided kyung (mythical bird). Further above are three faces, before a surmounting godhead. The purbha-wielding figure likely represents the Bon deity Purbha Drugse Chempa. For two other related Bon purbhas, see HAR item nos. 10131 & 57062.

Provenance
Sotheby's, New York, 22 March 1989, lot 226
Private Collection, Los Angeles

Additional information

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A rare Chinese group of the Tyrolean Dancers, Qianlong period, circa 1752
FOUR CHINESE YIXING WARES Late Qing dynasty - 20th century
FIVE BURMESE AND THAI GILTWOOD FIGURES OF BUDDHA Late 19th/20th century
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Huang Shanshou (1855-1919) Dragons in Clouds
Birodo Yuzen Meiji era (1868-1912)
TWO JAPANESE BRONZE SCHOLAR'S OBJECTS Meiji/Taisho era
A KOREAN UNDERGLAZE-BLUE AND COPPER-RED-DECORATED 'GRAPEVINE' GLOBULAR JAR Late Joseon dynasty
A JAPANESE SIX-PANEL 'FARM SCENE' FOLDING SCREEN Late 19th/early 20th century
A KOREAN FOUR-PANEL 'PEONIES AND CALLIGRAPHY' FOLDING SCREEN Late Joseon dynasty
AN INSIDE-PAINTED ROCK CRYSTAL 'LADIES' SNUFF BOTTLE, SIGNED YE ZHONGSAN 1919
A CHINESE YELLOW GLASS SNUFF BOTTLE 19th century
A FAMILLE-ROSE ENAMELED PORCELAIN COVERED BALUSTER JAR 18th/19th century
A PAINTED LACQUERED-WOOD FOUR-DOOR CABINET Early 20th century