Footnotes

銅鎏金直貢噶舉喇嘛像
西藏 十三/十四世紀

The young, handsome figure sits regally in vajrasana on a double lotus base. His eyes are cast in a dreamy gaze and his lips are curled in a gentle smile. He has strong features— high cheekbones, well-defined lips with a prominent philtrum, a beaked nose, and an angular hairline. His sleeveless vest and outer robe hug broad sloping shoulders, a tapering waist, and long folded limbs.

Almost certainly from a Drigung Kagyu lineage set, the portrait echoes those of Jigten Sumgon Rinchen Pel (1143-1217), the order's founder, while being modeled with the face of one of his disciples. The slim physique, the form-fitting pleated robes, and the repetition of the bhumisparsha mudra all trace continuity with Rinchen Pel's image. The dense casting and gilding are also congruent. And, the thick, recessed footrim of the base would have facilitated the bronze being inserted into a separately cast pedestal in a manner common for early Kagyu portraits (cf. Jackson, Painting Traditions, of the Early Kagyu School, New York, 2015, pp.89-91, figs. 5.11-5.14). Compare these features to one of the leading portrait bronzes of the Drigung orders' founder sold at Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3236.

Published
Rossi & Rossi Ltd, Homage to the Holy, London, 2003, no.17.

Provenance
Rossi & Rossi Ltd, London, 2007