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Scientific Analysis Report: A report issued by CIRAM Science for Art Cultural Heritage on 1 September 2026, no. 0726-OA-1261J-13, based on two metal samples taken from the base, identifies natural corrosion processes supporting the antiquity of the object, with no evidence of modern manufacture or artificial patination. The result is consistent with the dating above. CIRAM’s analysis confirms a 16th-century date for the figure and thus provides scientific support for our assessment that the present lot is of an earlier date than previously assumed (see expert’s note below). A copy of the report accompanies this lot.
Published & Exhibited:
1. Armand Neven, New Studies into Indian and Himalayan Sculpture, Exhibition at De Ruimte, Eersel, Spink & Son, Jean and Marcel Nies, 1980, p. 76, fig. 101 (dated late Malla, end 17th century)
2. Jean & Marcel Nies, Himalayan Art, Sculptures, Thangkas and ritual objects from Nepal, Tibet, Bhutan and Western Himalaya, Eersel, 1981, p. 21-22, cat. no. 21 (dated 17th century).
3. Himalayan Art Resources, item number 8848.
Expert’s note: According to Armand Neven, this “bronze of a very fine and skillful workmanship is more related to what became the official taste from the second half of the 16th century onwards”, and that this style “evolved from the early 15th century aesthetical change, was still common under the reign of Pratapmalla (1641-1674), when the flaming patterns of the mandorlas and nimbuses became more and more treated in a schematic and stylized fashion.” This judgement explains the conservative 17th-century datings in the publications listed above. However, the piece not only compares very favorably to examples dated to the 15th and 16th centuries (see literature and auction comparisons below), but the superb casting quality, spiritual power, and strong patina all speak for an earlier date as well.
Nepal. Finely cast, the sixteen-armed goddess seated in sukhasana upon a double-lotus throne raised on the back of her lion vahana, signifying her ability to conquer evil and protect devotees, all supported on a tall lotus base, overall decorated with thick beading and scrolling foliage. The fierce lion rears its head upward, the mouth open in a loud roar revealing teeth and fangs, its flowing mane meticulously detailed.
Her principal right hand is lowered in varada mudra and the left is raised in abhaya mudra, while the fourteen secondary arms radiate around the figure with pleasing symmetry, holding an ankush, lotus, arrow, trident, mala, vajra-ghanta, sword, shield, hand-drum, water pot, bow, skull cup, manuscript, and noose.
The goddess is richly adorned with beaded foliate jewelry and dressed in a sinuous dhoti, incised at the hems with scrolling vines and falling in pleats before the ankles. Her sensitively modeled face bears a serenely smiling expression quite unusual for this fearful warrior. Her neatly incised hair is secured by a floral tiara and backed by a flaming mandorla.
The numerous inlays are made from turquoise, lapis, ruby, and emerald.
Provenance: Jean and Marcel Nies, Antwerp, Belgium, by 1980. The private collection of Jo Eenens, Netherlands, acquired from the above in 1981 and thence by descent. Marcel Nies Oriental Art, Antwerp, 2017. Collection of John and Karina Stewart, Thailand, acquired from the above. A copy of the signed certificate from Marcel Nies Oriental Art, dated 14 June 2017, addressed to John Stewart, dating the present lot to the Malla period, ca. 1600 AD, and confirming the provenance above, accompanies the lot. Marcel Nies is a Belgian art expert and dealer who specializes in important works of art from Southeast Asia, India, and the Himalaya regions. Active since 1975, he has built an internationally recognized expertise and advises numerous vetting committees worldwide. Apart from the annual exhibitions held at his gallery, Marcel Nies has taken part in TEFAF Maastricht for over 30 years, showcasing some of the finest pieces in his collection. He has supplied works of art to important private collections and museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the museum for Ostasiatische Kunst K?ln, the Victoria and Albert Museum London, the Rietberg Museum Zurich, the Metropolitan Museum New York, the Asian Art Museum San Francisco, the Barbier-Mueller Museum Dallas, and the Asian Civilization Museum in Singapore. John and Karina Stewart first met in 1982 in the Himalayas, where Karina, then twenty-one, was spending a gap year from her university studies. John had been living in India since 1977. Their encounter developed into a lifelong personal and intellectual partnership, united by an interest in nature and shared spiritual outlook. These experiences were later embodied in Kamalaya, conceived as a place in which the teachings and practices encountered during their travels could be shared with others. Developed in collaboration with architect Robert Powell and landscape architect Victor Choong, the sanctuary was designed around the existing terrain, with buildings carefully positioned among mature trees, granite boulders, streams, and tropical vegetation. Its architectural language draws upon traditional Thai communal structures, Himalayan spiritual symbolism, and the ancient bathing cultures of India and Nepal.
Condition: Good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, some warping, rubbing and losses to gilding, minute dings, light nicks, small surface scratches, losses and replacements to inlays. A section of the lion’s tail with small losses and minor old repairs. The copper alloy with a fine, naturally grown, smooth patina, with small areas of malachite encrustation.
Weight: 6.1 kg (incl. stand)
Dimensions: Height 28.5 cm (excl. stand), 30.5 cm (incl. stand)
Worshiped by both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal and invoked in Shaktism and Tantric rituals, Mahalakshmi (Great Lakshmi) is the name of a cosmic protector form of the goddess Lakshmi as the primordial Supreme Mother Goddess, Adi Parashakti (First Supreme Energy). Mahalakshmi is also one of the Eight Mother Goddesses (Astha Matrikas). She is crowned, heavily ornamented, and has Shiva’s third eye of wisdom (j?ana netra). Regarded as a fierce protective goddess, she is multi-armed and holds multiple weapons. She sits cross-legged on her lion mount (simha vahana) crouching on a lotus base. Although Mahalakshmi is a fearful warrior, here she is depicted as smiling and her lion is seemingly grinning as he gazes up at his mistress with adoration.
Ashtamatrika figures were often produced as a sculptural set. The full pantheon includes Brahmani, Vaishnavi, Maheshvari, Indrani, Kaumari, Varahi, Chamunda, and Mahalakshmi (though in the Indian Hindu tradition, the eighth Matrika is Narasimhi with the omission of Mahalakshmi). A famous early Malla sculptural set of the eight Matrika, dated to the 13th century, is published in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, pp. 352-353, nos. 92A-H.
Literature comparison:
Compare a closely related inlaid gilt-copper figure of Mahalakshmi, dated to the 16th century, 14 cm high, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.72.108.5. Compare a closely related gilt-copper figure of Durga, dated to the 15th century, in the Rubin Museum of Art, accession number C2001.10.5, and illustrated by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 65028.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s Paris, 21 December 2023, lot 50
Price: EUR 69,850 or approx. EUR 75,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A rare gilt-copper figure of Prajnaparamita, Nepal, 16th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related modeling, manner of casting, gilding (albeit with less wear than the present lot), and inlaid decoration. Note the much smaller size (19.8 cm) and different subject.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 September 2015, lot 41
Price: USD 68,750 or approx. EUR 85,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt-bronze figure of Vasudhara, Nepal, 16th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related Nepalese casting, refined Newari modeling, elaborate jewelry, and elegantly proportioned figure. Note the much smaller size (16 cm high), the loss of gilt, and the six-armed depiction of Vasudhara.
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