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Lot 159TP,W

A LARGE GILT-BRONZE STUPA CANOPY
Tibet, 14th century or later

15 May 2025, 11:30 BST
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £10,240 inc. premium

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A LARGE GILT-BRONZE STUPA CANOPY

Tibet, 14th century or later
The canopy set with a band of curving lotus lappets, encircling a raised circular platform rising to a bud-form finial, with a raised band encircling the neck, above a beaded rim suspending flame-form ornaments. 63.5cm (25in) diam. (2).

Footnotes

西藏 十四世紀或以後 銅鎏金佛塔頂蓋

Provenance: Christie's London, 9 Nov 2010, lot 148

來源: 倫敦佳士得,2010年11月9日,拍品編號148

Gilt bronze stupa canopies from Tibet are finely crafted ritual objects used to adorn stupas (chörten) in monasteries and religious sites. These canopies, typically featuring elaborate repoussé work, are designed to symbolise the celestial heavens and provide a sacred covering for the reliquaries beneath. The use of gilt-bronze reflects both the region's metallurgical skill and the importance of luminosity in Tibetan Buddhist art, where gold is associated with divine radiance and enlightenment. See a related stupa and canopy, 15th century, atop the Kumbum, Gyantse, central regions of Tibet, illustrated by M.Rhie and R.Thurman, The Sacred Art of Tibet: Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1991, p.54.

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