A gilt-bronze and inlaid figure of a bodhisattva Nepal, Early Malla Period, 14th century 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (21.5 x 16.2 cm.) Provenance: Private European Collection, acquired by inheritance. Published: Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 7612
Downcast eyes and slightly upturned lips convey the spiritual equipoise of this benevolent buddhist being. The figure wears all of the garments of a bodhisattva: a crown, necklaces, bracelets, a sacred cord, a festooned belt around a floral dhoti, and anklets. This heavenly manifestation is known as a sambhogakaya (Skt.) appearance. In English, this Tantric Buddhist class of beings are referred to as ‘enjoyment bodies.’ The sambhogakaya is a realm one gains access to through the highest dimensions of practice; it is where all bodhisattvas reside. Sambhogakaya manifestations are considered one of the primary means through which buddhist truths are made manifest to human beings. Buddhas often take on this appearance to teach highly realized practitioners and bodhisattvas. The five celestial buddhas are, therefore, depicted in sambhogakaya or bodhisattva appearance with great frequency. Thus, without a view of the present sculpture’s equally-detailed backside, the meditative posture and fear-dispelling gesture (or abhayamudra) might lead one to identify the peaceful deity as the buddha Amoghasiddhi of the North. However, a protruding piece of metal on the back of the figure’s proper-left arm indicates that there was once a lotus stalk here, which would have supported another iconographic element essential to identification of the figure. Without this element present, the figure must be described as an unidentifiable bodhisattva. Yet, the origin of this figure is apparent. The elaborate five-petaled diadem and tiered helmet with a vajra finial are immediately telling of this fine bronze’s Nepalese origin. The style is common to Nepalese sculptures and mirrors that worn by Vajrayana Buddhist acharyas or priests in the Kathmandu Valley. The inlaying of translucent semi-precious stones beside the turquoise and lapis, which give color to the bodhisattva’s heavenly jewels, is also much more common in Nepal than Tibet. This finely cast, richly-gilded bodhisattva clearly displays the naturalistic physiognomy, typical aquiline nose, and precise decoration mastered by the Newar artists of the Kathmandu Valley during the early Malla period. A fifteenth-century figure of Manjushri or Maitreya at the Rubin Museum of Art provides a close comparison (Acc. C2003.33.2; see Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 65255). This figure, too, is clearly missing an iconographic element that would have emerged from a lotus stalk attached to the back of the proper-left arm. Also see a comparable sculpture, identified as Amoghasiddhi, sold at Christe’s New York (19 March 2013, lot 404). It is quite possible that these figures were part of the same set of sculptures depicting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas.
Comparable works
A gilt bronze figure of Amoghasiddhi Nepal, 15th century 8 ½ in. (21.5 cm.) high Sold at Christe’s New York, 19 March 2013, lot 404.
Manjushri Nepal, 16th century Gilt copper alloy with inlays of semiprecious stones Rubin Museum of Art, C2003.33.2 (HAR 65255)
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