登录
The front of the base is neatly incised with a Sanskrit text in Devanagari script reading:
um svastu samvat 785 pausala gaka caturdasi kuhnu siko mugudi bahala che tapadevaju moka dina putra rumbusinngana dakiryayata racakam, varja asana tathagata patima dayaka juro || subha ||
‘Om! May it be auspicious! Tapadevaju, the resident of the Siko Mugudi Buddhist monastery, passed away on the fourteenth day of the dark half of the Pausa month of (Nepal) Samvat 785 (corresponding to 1664). Rubusina, his son, commissioned this image of Vajrasana Tathagata in advance of the one-year death ritual.’
Superbly modeled, seated in vajraparyankasana on a sharply waisted double-lotus base with a beaded upper rim, the lower section encircled by the inscription. His right hand is lowered in bhumisparsha mudra, calling the earth to witness, while his left rests in his lap in dhyana mudra, holding an alms bowl. He is clad in a diaphanous uttarasanga, draped over the left shoulder and leaving the chest partially exposed, its broad hems richly incised with scrolling floral designs.
The face is sensitively modeled with a serene, meditative expression, defined by heavy-lidded downcast eyes beneath elegantly arched and finely incised brows, centered by a raised drop-shaped urna above an incised mark, a prominent aquiline nose, and bow-shaped lips forming a subtle smile, all flanked by elongated pierced earlobes. The hair is neatly arranged in tight curls rising over the high ushnisha, surmounted by a jewel.
The base is sealed with a copper plate.
Provenance: From an old and important European private collection, by repute acquired from Koller, Zürich, and thence by descent within the family.
Condition: Good condition with expected ancient wear, casting irregularities, light warping, small dents, some elements reinforced, minor losses to gilding, light surface scratches. Remnants of ancient pigment and lacquer. Some of the internal metal connections have loosened slightly over the centuries, resulting in a minor degree of movement. Both the gilding and the copper have acquired a beautiful, naturally grown patina over time.
Weight: 1.9 kg
Dimensions: Height 32.5 cm
The finely engraved dedicatory inscription identifies this Buddhist bronze as an image of the Vajrasana Tathagata, or the historical Buddha at the moment of his enlightenment on the Diamond Throne, and records that it was made in the year 1664. It was commissioned by a donor named Rubusina as part of posthumous rituals performed on behalf of his deceased father. The sculpture may therefore have been offered to Siko Mugudi Monastery, where the father of Rubusina is said to have resided.
Siko Mugudi was a Buddhist monastery situated near the well-known monument in Kathmandu, Nepal, commonly referred to as the Wooden Pavilion, or Kasthamandapa. The name Siko Mugudi is the original Newari designation from which the later sanskritized form Kasthamandapa derives.
Dedicatory inscriptions on Himalayan Buddhist sculpture are closely associated with the practice of generosity (dana), a fundamental ethical and religious virtue. In Mahayana Buddhism, dana is the first of the six perfections (paramita) cultivated on the bodhisattva path. Acts of giving, particularly donations made to monastic communities, are understood to generate punya, or merit, which may benefit the donor in the present life and in future rebirths. Such inscriptions provide important evidence for the social and devotional dimensions of merit-making. By recording the names of donors and, in many cases, those to whom the resulting merit was dedicated, they illuminate practices of merit generation and transfer within Buddhist communities.
The epithet Vajrasana Tathagata designates the Buddha in his aspect as the one who attained enlightenment at Vajrasana, the Diamond Seat beneath the Bodhi tree at Bodhgaya. The term combines Vajrasana, the sacred site of awakening, with Tathagata, one of the principal titles of the Buddha, conventionally rendered as ‘Thus-Gone’ or ‘Thus-Come One’. The designation thus emphasizes the awakening of the Buddha at Bodhgaya and the sanctity of the site associated with that event, and is often used in ritual, doctrinal, and iconographic contexts, particularly within Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions.
Expert’s note: In the later Malla period, from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, the rulers of the three kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley engaged in an extensive construction program to compete with their neighbors. As their central squares increasingly filled with temples and palaces, the demand for religious images reached epic proportions. To meet that demand, the artisans of the Kathmandu Valley turned to the copper repoussé technique, which was faster and more material-conscious than bronze casting. In the repoussé technique, thin sheets of metal are beaten over molds and then pieced together to form a three-dimensional image. While many were in simple copper, polished to imitate gilding, the most important works, including the present lot, were richly gilded. Compare a closely related larger gilt-copper repoussé figure of Maitreya, dated 17th-18th century, at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2019, lot 690.
Literature comparison:
Compare a related Tibetan gilt-copper figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated 17th century, 28.3 cm high, illustrated by Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan bronzes, 1981, p. 448-449, no. 122F. Compare a related Tibetan gilt-brass figure of Buddha Shakyamuni, dated 16th century, 22.5 cm high, illustrated ibid., p. 440, no. 118A.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 62
Mid-Estimate: HKD 2,750,000 or approx. EUR 348,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt copper alloy figure of Akshobhya, Nepal, 16th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related copper repoussé modeling, gilding, and size (33 cm), with similar base and expression. Note the inlays and lack of inscription.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 20 March 2025, lot 565
Mid-Estimate: USD 175,000 or approx. EUR 156,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A large inscribed gilt copper alloy figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Tibet, circa 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the related subject, manner of casting, and modeling, notably the seated pose, revealing the similarly fleshy contours of the belly, the treatment of the drapery with incised foliate hems, and the facial features. Note the inscription, similar size (31.5 cm) and slightly earlier dating.
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