Footnotes

銅鎏金財源天母像
尼泊爾 馬拉王朝早期 十三/十四世紀

Vasudhara (lit. 'Bearer of Treasure') is a Buddhist goddess of prosperity particularly revered among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. She is represented as a beautiful young maiden with a cosmic reach imparted by her many arms. They are effortlessly cast in a balanced array, with two hands presenting her devotees with the mudras of generosity and reassurance, while four others hold a vase of plenty, a sheaf of grain, a strand of jewels, and the Prajnaparamita, offering an abundance of fertility, wealth, sustenance, and wisdom—prosperity in its holistic sense.

The gilt bronze is a classic example of 13th-/14th-century Newari sculpture, continuing the graceful suppleness of physique from previous centuries while making the regalia more prominent and complex. When compared to a c.11th-century example, such as one sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 7 October 2019, lot 925, the present bronze has exchanged a simpler tiara with one central leaf for a crown of many leaves and inset jewels. Moreover, a light diaphanous scarf covering her breasts has been replaced by a prominent necklace draped between them. And, the relatively restrained former armbands are now positioned lower on her biceps, heavier with more extravagant designs.

Sparing no detail, the artist has chased Vasudhara's lower garment with minute stylized flowers in a manner closely related to a 13th-century example in the Rubin Museum of Art (C2007.23.1). The garment terminates with a pleasing ruffled flourish between her feet. Portions of her gilded surface have been rubbed under the thumbs of devotees appealing to Vasudhara for wealth and success over centuries. Their propitiation has resulted in the bronze having a lustrous patina with areas of its rich chocolate-brown metallic composition revealed underneath.

Provenance
Private French Collection