Footnotes

A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A LAMA
CENTRAL TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

藏中 十五世紀 銅鎏金喇嘛像

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

The charismatic face, with a prominent chin, broad smile causing creases on his full cheeks, and high cheek bones, has the mark of a true portrait commemorating an unidentified monastic leader. His identity may well be known in time, given that he appears to be the subject of another gilded bronze, also of great quality, preserved in the Náprstek Museum, Prague, and inscribed 'Kham-po (Abbot) Bsod-nams-Rinch'an la' (Jisl, Tibetan Art, 1957, no. 72).

An exemplary level of care has been taken by the artist to convey the variety of patterned hems and fabrics comprising the monk's vest and outer robe. Over the proper right shoulder, the vest is revealed to have a central panel of meandering lotus stems connecting large blossoms viewed from above. Maintaining the perspective, a linear chain of lotus stems and flowers runs across his back, left shoulder, and chest, along the beaded hem of his outer robe. By contrast, the revealed hem of the monastic vest depicts a flatter, continuous leafy vine against a stippled ground. Further embellishments to the outer patchwork robe are worked with chevrons and floral medallions. These patterns imitate luxurious and highly coveted brocaded silk textiles received from the early Ming imperial court. In fact, the vest's central panel seems almost directly inspired by a Ming-dynasty yellow-and-red brocade, a panel of which is held in the Palace Museum, Beijing (Zong [ed.], The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Textiles and Embroideries of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, 2005, p. 116, no. 133).

The close affinity with early Ming textiles and the sheer refinement of this gilded portrait locate it in the 15th century, considered a renaissance period in Tibetan art history. Further still, the particular method of engraving to pattern the garments, the distinctive broad and raised lotus petals around the base, the base's tall foot, and the gilded baseplate on the underside, align with the work of an identified Tibetan master, Sonam Gyaltsen, who is known by inscription to have created superlative gilt bronzes for at least one monastery in Central Tibet, circa 1430 (see the Jamchen Avalokiteshvara by Sonam Gyaltsen sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3033). The eccentricity shown in revealing a couple of toes from the lama's left foot peering out from underneath the outer robe is yet another indicator betraying the hand of a bold artist who delights in including unique features beyond the prescribed format of such portraiture.