Tibet, Machig Labdron (2)

15th century, Tibet, female adept or Buddhist goddess, gilt copper, 15,8 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1073 pl. 276B, Potala Collection, Bla ma lha khang inventory nº 1039, Lhasa (Tibet).

An intriguing figure with a wrathful countenance and a skull crown, yet her hair is dyed with blue pigment instead of the red-orange colour usually seen on wrathful deities. The author suggests this could be a portrait of Machig Labdron, whom we have seen depicted as a wisdom dakini, with three eyes, blue hair, a five-skull crown, bone jewellery, standing on her left foot and holding a drum and a bell.

16th-17th century, Tibet, Machig Labdron, gilt copper, 19,5 cm, photo as before, p. 1055 pl. 267B, at the Palkor Chode monastic complex in Gyantse (Tibet).

Here she has a skull cup in her left hand. We saw another example on Bonhams  , and a seated one at the Penn Museum .

15th century, Tibet, Machik Labdrön, painted clay (on a wooden armature), no size given, photo by Dudul Dorjay, 2011, on virginia.edu, at the Shije shrine in the Kumbum, Gyantse (Tibet).

This image is placed next to a larger one of Padampa Sangye. Machig Labdron holds a drum in her right hand and probably had an attribute in the other (of which the forefinger is missing).

Tibet, various bodhisattvas (9)

12th-13th century, Tibet, Vajrasattva, bronze, 23,5 cm, private collection, The Graceful Path to Awakening lot 12, Hollywood Galleries

Out of context a standing male figure with a bodhisattva appearance who holds a vajra sceptre in his right hand and a bell in the other is Vajrapani. Early Tibetan works sometimes depict him holding the stem of a blue lily in his left hand, without a bell on it. We saw one on HAR holding a lily topped with the bell, with a vajra sceptre held horizontally in the palm of his right hand. The above holds it upright like Vajrasattva, who is a buddha when seated but a bodhisattva when standing.

13th-14th century, Tibet, Vajrapani or an emanation of Akshobhya, brass, 44,8 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1105 pl. 2987D, Potala Collection, inventory nº 228 at the Kun bzang rjes ‘gro lha khang, Lhasa (Tibet).

This figure stands on a lotus base atop a pedestal supported by lions and covered with a cloth decorated with an upright vajra sceptre at the front.

14th century, Tibet, Maitreya or Manjushri, gilt copper, 42,5 cm, photo as before, p. 1033 pl. 256D, at the Bri gung mthil (Drigung Thil) monastery (Tibet).

Tibet, Hevajra (13)

15th century, Central Tibet, Tsang province, Hevajra, copper alloy with silver-inlaid eyes, 25,4 cm, The Claude de Marteau Collection Part III lot 9, 14th June 2023, Bonhams (Paris).

Guhyasamaja Hevajra, with 8 heads, 4 legs, 16 arms, in embrace with Vajranairatmya, who has one head and two hands, in which she holds a flaying knife and a skull cup. They are standing with two legs in the air and the other two crushing four maras stacked on the pedestal. His row of heads is topped with Mahakala’s; Nairatmya is coiffed with an unusual conical hat (see close up on HAR ).

15th century, Tibet, Kapaladhara Hevajra, gilt copper, 25 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1058 pl. 269A , at the Bri gung mthil (Drigung Thil) monastery (Tibet).

Some forms Hevajra with the same amount of heads and arms hold peaceful and wrathful implements.  In his kapaladhara form he holds skull cups that contain animals on one side (elephant, horse, donkey, bull, camel, human, sharabha, cat or owl) and deities on the other (the god of death, water, fire, air, earth, the Moon, the Sun, a holder of wealth).

15th century, Tibet, Kapaladhara Hevajra, gilt copper, 29,5 cm, photo as before, p. 1059 pl. 269C, at the gDung phud chos ‘khor (Sakya monastery), lower Tib chu valley (Tibet).

A singular example with four heads only.

Tibet, Guhyasamaja

As we have seen before, Guhyasamaja is a generic term referring to a semi-wrathful deity with a princely appearance whose main attribute is a magic jewel and/or a wheel and who encompasses four different entities: Shri Hevajra, Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra, Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja, and Akshobhyavajra.

15th century, Tibet, Guhyasama Akshobhya, gilt copper, 20,4 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1056 pl. 268A, Potala Collection, Bla ma lha khang inventory nº 371, Lhasa (Tibet).

15th-16th century, Central Tibet, Sonam Gyaltsen atelier probably, Guhyasamaja, gilt copper alloy with turquoise inlay, 15,4 cm, private collection, Images of Devotion lot 1819, 1st December 2023, Bonhams (Hong Kong).

Akshobhyavajra, the embodiment of consciousness, is always seated in embrace with his consort, Sparsavajra, who has three heads and six arms like him and holds the same attributes. He has frowning eyebrows, bared fangs, and may have a third eye. He holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell in his main hands crossed over her back, a wheel (representing Vairocana), a faceted jewel (Ratnasambhava), an 8-petal lotus (Amitabha) and a sword (Amoghasiddhi) in his remaining hands. He has a flaming jewel on top of his chignon and his crown often includes a jewelled wheel at the front.

15th century, Tibet, Guhyasamaja Akshobhya possibly (or retinue figure?), gilt copper, 33,5 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder as above, p. 1057 pl. 268C, at the Shalu monastery (Tibet).

Guhyasamaja retinue figures have three heads and six arms and all of them hold a sword, a lotus, a vajra sceptre, a wheel, and a triple gem or a flaming jewel. Depending on which attribute they hold in which hand, they represent one tathagata or the other. The above holds the same attributes as Askhobhyavajra (the sword in his upper left hand is broken).

15th century, Tibet, Guhyasamaja retinue figure, gilt metal with turquoise and pearls, private collection, on HAR

This one holds a visvajra (Amoghasiddhi’s attribute) and a bell in his main hands, a (broken) sword and a missing item, probably a wheel, in the remaining right hands, a flaming jewel and a lotus in the remaining left ones.

Nepal, Hevajra (4)

15th-16th century, Nepal, Hevajra, gilt copper, 15,9 cm, private collection, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art lot 504, 20th March 2024, Christie’s

Dated 1768 AD, Nepal, Hevajra and Nairatma, gilt copper, 29 cm, private collection, photo on Lost Arts of Nepal

16th-17th century, Nepal, labelled ‘Sahaja Hevajra’, bronze, 20,8 cm, private collection, Indian and Himalayan Art lot 835, 21st March 2024, Sotheby’s

Unlike Sahaja Hevajra, who has one head and two hands in which he holds skull cups, the above has six heads (but probably had a seventh on top), four legs, and four arms, the two broken ones would have embraced his consort now missing. This iconography doesn’t match any form of Hevajra seen so far and the flaying knife in his upper right hand is not one of Hevajra’s usual attributes. This is perhaps a form of the deity specific to Nepal?

Nepal, Shakyamuni – seated (4)

14th-15th century, Nepal, Buddha Shakyamuni, gilt copper, 8,6 cm, private collection, Art d’Asie lot 112, 6th December 2021, Artcurial

The historical buddha, identified by the vajra sceptre at the front of the lotus base, wears monastic garments with beading and a large rice-grain pattern along the border.

15th century, Nepal, Buddha, bronze (copper or copper alloy with remains of gilding), 9,5 cm, private collection, Auction 18 lot 269, 30th September 2023, Hardt

16th century, Nepal, Buddha, gilt bronze, 7,6 cm, private collection, auction M0009 lot 92, 16th December 2014, Pundole’s

18th century, Nepal, Buddha, gilt copper, 15,9 cm, private collection, Arts of Asia Online lot 212, 29th March 2023, Christie’s

Tibet, Shakyamuni – standing (5)

11th-12th century, Tibet, Standing Shakyamuni, gilt copper, 64 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1015 pl. 247B, Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 1313, Lhasa (Tibet).

His right hand, held in the gesture of supreme generosity, displays an incised diamond shape. The left hand holds a piece of his garment.

12th century, Western Tibet? (labelled ‘Ladakh or Kashmir or Tibet), Shakyamuni, bronze with silver-inlaid eyes (and traces of cold gold on face), 25,5 cm, private collection, Auction 19 lot 91, Hardt

The wide-open eyes with a large pupil at the centre depart from Kashmiri standards (compare with a brass Maitreya, Western Tibet, from the Nagaraja collection, on HAR ).

Tibet, Kalachakra (5)

15th-16th century, Tibet, Nepalese schools, Kalacakra, gilt copper, 29 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 964 pl. 232A, at the Palkor Chode monastic complex in Gyantse (Tibet).

We have seen very few sculptures of this meditational deity, who has one or four heads and two, four, or twenty-four arms. His name means ‘the wheel of time’ and he is always standing, usually treading on two four-armed Hindu deities often attended by two kneeling female figures (or seated, in this case). The above is in embrace with his consort, Vishvamata, who has four heads and eight arms. He wears a tiger skin loin cloth and a garland of vajra sceptres, she wears a bone apron. They are adorned with crowns and princely jewellery. He holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell in his main hands crossed over her back, and a variety of peaceful and wrathful implements in the others (usually an arrow, a hook, a wheel, a spear, a shield, a bow, a lasso, a conch shell, a mirror, a drum, a hammer, a stick, an axe, a ritual staff, a skull cup, a jewel, a lotus, a chain, Brahma’s head).

We saw a larger and earlier Kalachakra with consort, from the Shalu monastery, published on Huntington Archive , the following picture shows the reverse of that statue.

1300-1350 AD, Tibet, Nepalese schools, Kalacakra, gilt copper, 60 cm, photo as before (p. 964 pl. 232B), at the Zhwa lu monastery (Tibet).

Tibet, Manjushri – standing (10)

Circa 11th century, Tibet, Siddhaikavira Form of Manjushri (?), copper alloy with traces of gilding, 37,8 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1017 pl. 248D, Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 97, Lhasa (Tibet).

11th-12th century, Tibet, Siddhaikavira Form of Manjushri (?), gilt copper, 35,4 cm, photo as before, p. 1013 pl. 246E, Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 1295, Lhasa (Tibet).

Siddhaikavira is an ascetic form of Manjushri with a white body on paintings. Seated in the royal ease position or standing, he rarely wears a crown and doesn’t hold a book but a blue water lily in his left hand, and often has a bud in his right hand (as above) which is extended in the gesture of generosity.

11th-12th century, Tibet, Siddhaikavira Form of Manjushri (?), copper with traces of gilding, 34,5 cm, photo as before, p. 1019 pl. 249D, Potala Collection, Lima Lhakhang inventory nº 1078, Lhasa (Tibet).

When he wears a crown it normally includes an effigy of Akshobhya at the front or features the five tathagatas. In this case, the bodhisattva of wisdom wears a small three-leaf tiara and a matching hair ornament on his chignon. He has the stalk of a broken flower in his left hand and a small object in the other, shaped like a jewel.

11th-12th century, Tibet, Manjushri, copper alloy with gilding at the front, 59,5 cm, photo as before, p. 1025 pl. 252D, at the Shalu monastery (Tibet).

This work was originally posted as Maitreya, and indeed, according to Mr Von Schroeder, ‘because of a recently added attribute of a lotus with a water jar (kundika) above the left shoulder (removed for photography), this image is identified by the monks as bodhisattva Maitreya.’ However, in the absence of a stupa in his headdress or against his chignon, the author rules Maitreya out. If we compare with the Siddhaikavira images above, the right hand makes the same gesture and holds a small object, perhaps a seed, and the left hand once held the stem of a flower. Two singular features are the festooned belt with Kirtimukha at the front and a piece of fabric tied around the waist.

12th century, Tibet, Manjushri, gilt bronze, 37 cm, private collection, Indian and Himalayan Art lot 806, 21st March 2024, Sotheby’s

This statue must have come from the same workshop as a circa 12th century Manjushri from the gTsug Lhakhang collection in Lhasa seen in a previous post and reproduced below for comparison. Manjushri wears a tall three-leaf crown with prominent bows, rosette and ribbons, and the effigy of a buddha at the front – described as the historical buddha by Sotheby’s and as Vairocana by Mr von Schroeder. His left hand holds the stem of an open flower that supports the Prajnaparamita sutra.

Circa 12th century, Tibet, Manjushri, gilt copper, 46,4 cm, photo by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 1024 pl. 252C, inventory nº 546 at the gTsug Lakhang in Lhasa (Tibet).

Tibet, Shakyamuni with attendants

14th century, Tibet, Buddha Shakyamuni with Padmapani and Vajrapani possibly, gilt copper, 48 cm, 67,5 cm with halo, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 962 pl. 231A, at the Shalu monastery (Tibet).

The two small figures standing on each side of Shakyamuni make the same hand gestures and neither of them holds an attribute, which makes identification uncertain. The author explains that these bodhisattvas are likely to be Avalokiteshvara in his padmapani form and Vajrapani. On the cross bar above them are two makaras, two naga kings, and a garuda.