An important gilt copper figure of Vasudhara
Nepal, circa 13th Century
Sensitively cast seated with her right leg pendant in Lalitasana supported by a single lotus flower, her six arms radiating around her with two right hands held in Abhaya and Vitarka mudra, the remaining hands holding a gem, the vase of Amrita, a harvest bundle and a manuscript, wearing a diaphanous dhoti finely incised with undulating stippled bands alternating with flowerheads and elaborate beaded jewellery inset with hardstones
8 in. (20 cm.) high
Details
- Title : An important gilt copper figure of Vasudhara
- Classification : Sculpture
- Medium : Gilt - Copper
- Country/ Geo-location : Nepal
- Period : circa 13th Century
- Collection : Christies
- LOT : 594
- Lot Essay : Vasudhara is the Buddhist goddess of wealth, good fortune and fertility. She is one of the most popular deities of Nepal, invoked for riches, offspring and abundant crops. This is an exceptionally fine example of its type with elegant fluid lines, sensuous modelling and delicate ornamentation; compare with the 12th century example from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, in P. Pal, Art of Nepal, 1985, cat. no. S24, p. 104, and with another example dated to the 11th century, in P. Pal, Himalayas, An Aesthetic Adventure, 2003, cat. no. 19, p. 43, with a more elongated torso, while the limbs are more elongated in the present example and elegantly highlighted with the longitudinally incised bands.
- Price realised : USD 433,000
- Estimate : USD 100,000 - USD 150,000
- Provenance : Spink and Son, London *Private Collection London, early 1970s *Rossi and Rossi Ltd.