Footnotes

A COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF DEVI
NEPAL, EARLY MALLA PERIOD, CIRCA 13TH CENTURY

尼泊爾 馬拉王朝早期 約十三世紀 女神銅像 

Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s

This charming goddess displays the sensuousness and restraint of ornamentation found in Nepalese sculpture of the Early Malla period (13th/14th century). With only a single semi-precious gemstone inserted into each article of her regalia, the viewer can better contemplate the sublime body of a divine being with less visual distraction. Meanwhile, her breasts are concealed by a barely discernible, diaphanous sash, and the rippling pleats of her lower garment lead the eye down across her supple thighs, accentuated by her graceful leftward sway. The sculpture has been cherished under the devotee's thumb, and rubbed to a buttery, chocolate-brown surface following centuries of propitiation for the goddess' blessings.

Holding the stem of a partially unfurled lotus, the goddess likely represents either the Buddhist savioress Tara or the Hindu goddess of prosperity Lakshmi. Two closely related examples have either of these designations; one is published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 345, no. 88F, while the other is located in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1987.142.355). Attributed some years ago, the Metropolitan's piece is identified as Lakshmi because of the Garuda mask appearing in her crown (Garuda is the mount of Vishnu, who is Lakshmi's consort). However, there are numerous Newari Buddhist sculptures of Tara's counterpart, Avalokiteshvara, featuring a Garuda mask in his crown (see Bonhams, New York, 16 March 2021, lot 309), only further illuminating how Hinduism and Buddhism made use of a common visual language to represent the divine or enlightened being, and their patrons employed the same Newari artisans to create these devotional objects. The Metropolitan Lakshmi is attributed to the 13th century, but her more rounded physique and exaggerated stance might indicate a later date, potentially serving as a foil for locating the present sculpture—and the aforementioned published Tara it bears closer resemblance to—within the 13th century.