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



Sold for HK$200,625 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
瑜伽士銅像
西藏 十六世紀
This sweet figure of a Tibetan yogi survives with the rubbed details and lustrous patina of a cherished personal icon. Distinguishing its quality is the treatment of the yogi's meditation belt slung around his right shoulder with refined beaded patterns, as if made of braided fabric. The sutra in his left hand is also finely detailed, showing a stack of manuscript pages between two covers. The yogi's mustache and ruffled hair are further examples of the bronze's superior craftsmanship.
Seated on an antelope skin and wearing a loose-fitting robe and meditation belt, the yogi's appearance bares close resemblance to that of Milarepa (c.1028-1111), Tibet's most famous and beloved hermit (cf. Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3220). However, among Milarepa's various iconographic forms, he is not known to hold a sutra. Therefore, the present figure is likely another anchorite following in Milarepa's tradition. Compare the textile patterns and antelope skin to a closely related example of Tsangnyon Heruka (1452-1507), the famous biographer of Milarepa, sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 58.
Provenance
Private Collection, Bloomington, Indiana, acquired in February 1989