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TIBET, 17TH CENTURY 14 in. (35.6 cm.) high
Private collection, Hong Kong, acquired in1984.
The present work is carved entirely from zitan, a hardwood from India that was exported to China in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. While zitan is a general term which includes numerous species of wood, it is commonly agreed that it belongs to the genus Pterocarpus. A purplish-black, fine-grained hardwood, zitan was considered the most prized hardwood by the Chinese. The density of the wood makes this material especially suitable for fine and intricate carving. While much of the zitan that came from India to China and Tibet was used for furniture, as the hard grain of the wood made it resistant to splitting and swelling in changes of climate, smaller quantities were used for boxes and other scholars’ accoutrement. Fewer works of sculpture in zitan are known, although the precious nature of the wood meant it would have been an appropriate material for an object of worship. Due to its slow-growing nature, zitan often was only available in small quantities. The somewhat large size of the present work was achieved by individually carving several separate blocks of zitan and ingeniously joining them together with cylindrical pegs.
The appearance of the present figure, seated on an animal skin over a rockwork base, with rotund form, naked body adorned with bone ornaments, and jatas of coiled dreadlocks on the top of the head identify the figure as a tantric siddha. Of the three forms of siddhas, the tantric appearance is the most commonly known in Tibetan depictions of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24542.