STATUETTE DE VAJRAYOGINI EN LAITON AVEC INCRUSTATION D'ARGENT ET DE CUIVRE
TIBET, XVIIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1820
11.4 cm (4 1/2 in.) high
Footnotes:
A SILVER AND COPPER INLAID BRASS FIGURE OF VAJRAYOGINI 
TIBET, 17TH CENTURY 

Published
Meinrad Maria Grewenig & Eberhard Rist (eds), Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 2016, p. 472, no. 209.

Exhibited 
Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces, Völklingen, 24 June 2016 —19 February 2017.

Provenance
Private American Collection, since 1980s

Vajrayogini is the principal female deity of the Chakrasamvara Tantra, enjoying widespread worship in all Tibetan Buddhist schools. She is the most importantdakiniin Tibetan Buddhism, which is a class of female celestial being that takes form in this world to train tantric masters in secret doctrines. Here, encircled by a flaming mandorla, the dakini dances on a prostrate figure on a lotus base. She is adorned with a garland of severed heads and holds the attributes of kartrika (hooked knife), kapala (skullcup), and khatvanga (ritual staff).  

Inspired by Pala bronzes from Buddhism's ancient heartland in northeastern India, this figure exemplifies an archaistic aesthetic popular in Tibet and at the Qing court in the 17th-19th centuries. Pala bronzes of the 8th-12th centuries spread to Tibet in vast numbers during a period known as Buddhism's Second Diffusion (10th-12th centuries) and were subsequently introduced to China in early exchanges between Tibetan monasteries and the Yuan court (1279-1368). Their sustained popularity is owed, in part, to the continued Qing support of Lamaism and assemblage of the Palace Collection, used as models in later bronze production. A Pala figure of Vajrayogini within a flaming halo in the Palace Collection is illustrated in The Complete Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Statues of Tibet, Hong Kong, 2003, p. 256, fig. 245. A Qing example of a dakini, related to the present bronze, shows similar modelling on a large lotus base (Precious Deposits, Vol. 5, 2000, p. 73, no. 26).

錯銀錯紅銅金剛瑜伽母銅像
西藏 十七世紀

著錄
Meinrad Maria Grewenig 及 Eberhard Rist 編，《Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces》，弗爾克林根，2016年，頁472，編號209

展覽
「Buddha: 2000 Years of Buddhist Art, 232 Masterpieces 」，弗爾克林根，2016 年 6 月 24 日至 2017 年 2 月 19 日

來源
美國私人珍藏，二十世紀八十年代

金剛瑜伽母為勝樂金剛密續中主要女性本尊之一，在所有藏傳佛教派中受到共同尊崇。金剛瑜伽母亦為藏傳佛教中最為重要的空行母——一眾天界女性生靈，進入凡塵以祕法傳授密宗教義。此尊造像背後環繞火焰光環，一足於蓮花座的屍骸上起舞。頭上戴著頭骨串成的花冠，攔喀章嘎天杖，一手持嘎巴拉碗，另一手則提彎刀「卡提月」。

借鋻源自古老的佛教中心、印度東北部的帕拉銅像，此金剛瑜伽母像代表著十七至十九世紀間流行於西藏及清宮的摹古風潮。誕生於八至十二世紀間帕拉銅像在藏傳佛教後弘期（十至十二世紀）大量傳入西藏，並通過隨後西藏寺院與元朝廷之間的交流（1279年至1368年），帕拉銅像進入中原地區。其長久盛行，部分歸功於清朝對喇嘛教持續的支持，以及故宮藏品的蒐集與形成，帕拉藏品成為後造銅像之範例。《故宮博物院藏文物珍品全集——藏傳佛教造像》中著錄一尊帕拉金剛瑜伽母像（2003年，頁256，圖245），同樣置於火焰背光之下。另有一尊清代所造空行母像，其身形以及大蓮花座皆與此拍品相似，見《Precious Deposits》，卷5，2000年，頁73，編號26。
Lot to be sold without reserve.
This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: *
* VAT on imported items at a reduced rate of 5.5% on the hammer price and the prevailing rate on buyer's premium if the item remains in EU.

TVA sur les objets importés à un taux réduit de 5.5% sur le prix d'adjudication et un taux en vigueur sur la prime d'achat dans le cas où l'objet reste dans l'Union Européenne.

Very good condition overall, with a shallow nick to the figure's right leg, as is visible in images. Minor dents and scratches, most visible along the base in a few areas. Traces of smoky black residue and embedded dust in recessed areas from exposure to temple lamps within the culture. Remains of gold pigment in the face. The piece survives with its original, separately cast base and mandorla, as well as its original copper and silver inlaid decorations.
Please contact Alvina Ang (Alvina.Ang@bonhams.com) for related condition report images and video.