Mark Rasmussen
International Director
Lot 627
A SILVER FIGURE OF SACHEN KUNGA NYINGPO TIBET, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY
23 September 2020, 15:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$43,825 inc. premium
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A SILVER FIGURE OF SACHEN KUNGA NYINGPO
TIBET, CIRCA 16TH CENTURY
A Tibetan inscription at the back of the base, translated: "Homage to the revered Sakya master!"
Himalayan Art Resources item no.68467
2 3/8 in. (6.1 cm) high
A Tibetan inscription at the back of the base, translated: "Homage to the revered Sakya master!"
Himalayan Art Resources item no.68467
2 3/8 in. (6.1 cm) high
Footnotes
西藏 約十六世紀 薩欽貢嘎寧波銀像
Showing his characteristic haircut and facial features, this sweet gem of a miniature portrait can be firmly identified as Sachen Kunga Nyingpo. (Compare an inscribed portrait sold at Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3259.) Another small silver figure depicting Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182), the son of Kunga Nyingpo, is most likely from the same set (von Schroeder-Imhof, Schritte zur Erkenntnis, Zurich, 2006, p.92, no.27). Made of silver—more precious than gold in Tibet—Kunga Nyingpo's monastic robes are modeled convincingly and embellished with incised cloud and floral patterns.
Although technically the son of the founder of Sakya Monastery, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1034-1102) is considered the first of The Five Great Founders of the Sakya Order. He was an effective political leader as well as a tantric master. Kunga Nyingpo authored numerous significant scholarly works, especially on the Chakrasamvara Tantra and the lamdre tradition (lit. 'Path with the Result'), which is at the doctrinal core of the Sakya.
Published
David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, fig.47, p.130.
F. Ricca, Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Turin, 2004, fig.IV.60.
Exhibited
The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 6 October – 30 December 1999.
Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, June – September 2004.
Stable as a Mountain: Gurus in Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 13 March – 13 July 2009.
Casting the Divine: Sculptures of the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2 March 2012 – 11 February 2013.
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