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


Sold for US$56,250 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
清朝 十七/十八世紀 那若空行母銅像
Vajrayogini is a yidam, a meditational deity representing Buddhahood in female form that the practitioner can visualize to transform their consciousness. Her practice originates from the Chakrasamvara cycle of tantras. She is common to all schools of Tibetan Buddhism and found in a variety of forms. This particular form recreates the vision and practice according to Naropa (11th century), one of the root mahasiddhas of the Kagyu order. This form enjoyed great popularity in the Gelug tradition after the 17th century.
As with a similar example in a private collection (HAR#9233), all decorative elements, including the crown, beaded jewels, and skull garland were cast separately and are now lost. But the result is a breathtakingly elegant idealization of the female form captured in a fluid and complex pose.
Another naked example is in the Rubin Museum of Art (HAR#65470). The sculptures with a very dark brown patina are consistent with Qianlong period works in the Palace Museum, Beijing (Treasures from the Qing Palace Collection, p.195, no.186). Also compare with the 17th-century Chakrasamvara in Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightment, Zurich, 1995, pl.112.
Provenance
Shirley Day Ltd, London, 16 November 1995
The Elizabeth and Willard Clark Collection, California