
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
This auction has ended. View lot details


Sold for US$47,500 inc. premium
Our Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialist
International Director
西藏西部 陪臚泥塑像 十四/十五世紀
Of extraordinary size, this prone figure was modeled to appear trampled under the foot of a monumental figure of Chakrasamvara. Bhairava's head is bent backward and turned to the right to accentuate his being squashed before the shrine's audience. His legs are animated, suggesting his struggle to escape the weight of Chakrasamvara pressing down on his back and head. The complete shrine would show Chakrasamvara standing on the Hindu divine couple Shiva and Parvati. Kalaratri would have been under his other foot, representing nirvana, while Bhairava here represents samsara
Typical of the clay sculpture of Western Tibet, the figure is painted with vibrant colors. Compare a figure of Yamantaka photographed in 1948 (Govinda, Tibet in Pictures, Berkeley, 1979, p.183). Also compare the simple thick-banded gold jewelry and small mouth of the bronze figures in the King's Chapel murals of Guge published in Laird, Murals of Tibet, Taschen, 2018, and the now badly damaged Tsaparang Hayagriva, published in Tucci, Temples of Western Tibet, New Delhi, 1989, p.LXVIII, no.68.
Provenance
Shirley Day Ltd, London, 12 December 1986
The Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California