Footnotes

西藏 十六/十七世紀 銀鎏金五世夏瑪巴昆秋葉拉像

Identified by a confidently worked inscription located at the back of the cushion, this portrait image depicts the Fifth Sharmapa Konchok Yanglak (1525-1583), one of the greatest teachers among the Karma Kagyu tradition who completed his studies at the age of twelve and was formally enthroned by the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje. Apart from the diagnostic red hat distinguishing him as a Sharma Kagyu lineage holder with connections to the 'Black Hat Karma Kagyu' tradition, Konchok Yanglak is further made recognizable by the number of portrayals made during and after his lifetime, detailing him with a long, ovular face, protruding ears, and a slightly receding hairline.

Considered to be a material rarer and more precious than gold, silver was typically used as an inlaid decoration for brass and copper alloy figures. In addition of gilding to enliven his complexion, which is a rare decorative feature for the medium, sculptures made entirely from silver were a reflection of a patron's wealth and eagerness to accrue merit by employing costlier materials. Further affirming its importance as a high-quality commission is a casting weight that defies its smaller scale as well as a finely rendered robe, incised with fine decorations and spilling along the edges of the cushion. In both modelling and scale, the following work draws similarities to a group of silver portraits of Kagyu hierarchs produced between the 16th and 17th centuries. See four such images, including the Sixth Karmapa, Thongwa Donden (mthong ba don ldan, 1416-1453), sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 3 October 2018, lot 3692, the Eighth Karmapa, Mikyö Dorje (mi bskyod rdo rje, 1507-1554), located in the Rubin Museum of Art, C.2019.2.1, the Sixth Sharmapa, Chökyi Wangchuk (1584-1630), sold at Sotheby's, New York, 15 March 2017, lot 221, and a Karmapa lineage holder (HAR 330343), implying an aesthetic preference for silver in the Kagyu order.

In a recent article exploring the possible significance of the arrangement of the togag, or the short-sleeved monastic vest worn by historical lamas (published in Estournel, "About the Portraits of Tibetan Masters," asianart.com, February, 2021), Jean-Luc Estournel argues that images made in the lifetime of a lama were likely depicted with the vest folded over onto the figure's proper right side, whereas post mortem images had the vest folded over onto the figure's proper left instead, as in the case of the following Sharmapa image. Lastly, see a pair of silver-gilt figures of smaller size depicting the Seventh Karmapa, Chodrak Gyatso and the Fourth Sharmapa, Chokyi Drakpa from the Nyingjei Lam Collection, sold at Bonhams, New York, 23 September 2020, lot 626.

Published:
David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, pl. 49.

Exhibited:
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2 March 2012 – 11 February 2013
Eternal Transience, Enlightened Wisdom: Masterpieces of Buddhist Art, The University of Hong Kong, 17 August 2022 – 16 October 2022

Provenance:
The Nyingjei Lam Collection
On loan to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1996–2005
On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005–2019 (L2005.9.68)