A RARE GILT-COPPER FIGURE OF VASUDHARA NEPAL, 14TH –15TH CENTURY
the bodhisattva of wealth and abundance seated in Lalitasana with six arms radiating around the body, the first right hand in abhayamudra, the remaining hands holding various attributes, such as jewellery, a treasure vase, a sheaf of grain and a sacred text, clad in a dhoti finely incised with geometric patterns and adorned with embellished jewellery, the hair knotted into a double bun and secured by a jewelled crown, the serene face accentuated with a downcast gaze below an Urna with stand h. 17.2 cm, 6 3/4 in.
Details
- Title : A RARE GILT-COPPER FIGURE OF VASUDHARA
- Year : 14TH –15TH CENTURY
- Classification : Sculpture
- Medium : Gilt - Copper
- Accession No : LOT 639
- Country/ Geo-location : Nepal
- Collection : Sotheby’s
- Acquisition Method : PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE EUROPEAN COLLECTION
- Status : AT: CHINESE ART; 31 MAY 2018 - 01 JUNE 2018 | 11:15 AM HKT HONG KONG
- ESTIMATE : 450,000 — 600,000 HKD
- CATALOGUE NOTE : The present figure, seated in Lalitasana with six arms elegantly radiating around the feminine body, the first right hand in Abhayamudra, and the other hands respectively holding a treasure vase, a sheaf of grain, a sacred text and various jewelleries, depicts the Bodhisattva Vasudhara, the goddess of wealth, fertility and abundance. Also referred to as ‘Bearer of Treasures’, she is the Buddhist counterpart of the Hindu goddess Lakshmi. Portrayed in the iconic six-armed tantric form, she is seen as the partner of the god of wealth, Jambhala, who emanates from the five Tathagata. Compare a figure of Vasudhara on a lotus base, from the Berti Aschmann Collection, illustrated in Helmut Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment. The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zuerirch, Zuerich, 1995, pl. 97; another, attributed to the 13th to 14th century, included in the exhibition Buddha-2000 Years of Buddhist Art. 232 Masterpieces, Völklinger Hütte, Völklingen, 2016, pl. 134; and a third example, attributed to the 15th century, sold in our Paris rooms, 12th June 2013, lot 197.