
Dora Tan
Head of Sale, Specialist
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Sold for HK$381,000 inc. premium
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Head of Sale, Specialist

International Director

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Cataloguer
尼泊爾 約十四世紀 獅形寶座支柱
This gilt-bronze lion is presented with hieratic, powerful legs accentuated by horizontal notches and a thick mane of cascading tresses. These features, which include independent triform tresses at the shoulders, are shared by a seated lion vehicle of Manjuvara dated to the 14th/15th centuries (von Schroder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 361, no. 96B). His commanding presence is amplified by bulging, rock crystal inset eyes and an inset necklace, suggesting its importance as a commission. A close comparison of its form can be seen in a stone lion guarding the entrance to the Changu Narayan temple in Kathmandu (Slusser, Mandala A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley, 1982, no. 47).
Given the location of the projecting tang at the top of his head, this lion would have likely supported a 13th-/14th-century image of Vasudhara or the Buddha as a throne support, as seen in an example in the British Museum (1971,0925.1) and another image sold at Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, 15 October 2020, lot 60.
Published:
Nancy Tingley, Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections, Sacramento, 2012, p. 61, no. 12.
Exhibited:
Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, from 20 October 2012 to 10 February 2013.
Provenance:
Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s