Olivia Xu
Associate Specialist
Lot 340
A FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF TARA Kangxi
Withdrawn
Amended
2 November 2023, 15:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£8,000 - £12,000
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Chen Xie
Specialist
Edward Luper
Specialist, Chinese Works of Art
A FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF TARA
Kangxi
Elegantly cast seated in lalitasana on a double lotus pedestal, wearing a graceful dhoti folded in neat pleats under her foot, the face with serene expression beneath a heavy tiara and jewels with turquoise and hardstone inlay, the hands held in varada and vitarkamudra, flanked by stemmed lotus to the shoulders, traces of blue and red pigment to the hair and tiara, the base sealed. 17.9cm (7in) high.
Elegantly cast seated in lalitasana on a double lotus pedestal, wearing a graceful dhoti folded in neat pleats under her foot, the face with serene expression beneath a heavy tiara and jewels with turquoise and hardstone inlay, the hands held in varada and vitarkamudra, flanked by stemmed lotus to the shoulders, traces of blue and red pigment to the hair and tiara, the base sealed. 17.9cm (7in) high.
Footnotes
清康熙 銅鎏金度母像
This finely cast figure of Tara would have been made during the reign of the Kangxi Emperor who was a devout follower of Tibetan Buddhism. At this time, religious figures were made in an array of sizes often depicted wearing in jewellery embellished with colourful semi-precious stones.
Tara is arguably the most popular Buddhist goddess in the Himalayas. In Tibet, she is worshipped by followers of every Buddhist sect, with her various forms found in all classes of Tantra. Her ten-syllable mantra and the short Tantra known as the 'Twenty-One Praises of Tara', spoken by Samantabhadra, are memorised and recited by virtually all Tibetans since childhood.
Compare with a related gilt-bronze figure of Amitayus, Kangxi, portrayed in a similar style and wearing elaborate jewellery inlaid with semi-precious stones, as noted on the present figure, in the Qing Court Collection, Beijing, illustrated in Buddhist Statues of Tibet: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 2003, p.238, no.227.
Compare with a related gilt-bronze figure of Tara, 17th/18th century, which was sold at Christie's New York, 15 March 2017, lot 222.
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Please note this lot is withdrawn.
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