Mark Rasmussen
International Director
Lot 9
A gilt copper alloy figure of Vajradhara Tibet, 15th century
18 September 2013, 10:00 EDT
New YorkUS$40,000 - US$60,000
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A gilt copper alloy figure of Vajradhara
Tibet, 15th century
Seated on a lotus throne in padmasana, wearing a patterned dhoti tied at the back, his hands in dharmacakrapavartina fostering lotus stems that blossom at his shoulders presenting the vajra and ghanta, bedecked with jewelry of inset turquoise, a festoon with central coral pendant, and a complementing inset turqouise urna centering his benign expression surmounted by a five-tiered crown with central kirtimukha mask and flanking ribbons before hair tied in a high chignon and topped with a jewel.
10 1/2 in. (26.5 cm) high
Seated on a lotus throne in padmasana, wearing a patterned dhoti tied at the back, his hands in dharmacakrapavartina fostering lotus stems that blossom at his shoulders presenting the vajra and ghanta, bedecked with jewelry of inset turquoise, a festoon with central coral pendant, and a complementing inset turqouise urna centering his benign expression surmounted by a five-tiered crown with central kirtimukha mask and flanking ribbons before hair tied in a high chignon and topped with a jewel.
10 1/2 in. (26.5 cm) high
Footnotes
Vajradhara is the supreme primordial Buddha representing the quintessence of Buddhahood in the Gelug and Kagyu schools. Achieving a 'state of vajradhara' is synonymous with complete realization.
For a related example in the Newark Museum Collection, see Rhie and Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, 1991, pl. 147, p. 357. Also compare the similar treatment of the crown and jewelry to a Vajradhara sold at Sotheby's New York, 20 September 2005, lot 26.