Thank you for registering for our auction! You are required to provide: 1. Deposit; 保证金待商议; 2. Copy or images of ID card (front and back) or Passport 3. Images of Credit card (front and back).
TIBET, 15TH CENTURY 12 ? in. (31.1 cm.) high
The skull-cup-bearing form of the tutelary deity, Hevajra, stands with his consort Nairatmya in a dancing embrace. Together these figures comprise a fully enlightened being, harnessing the male qualities of skillful means and compassion and the female aspect of transcendent wisdom.
The deities of the Unexcelled Yoga Tantra dance upon a lotus base trampling the bodies of Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and Indra in their stride. The four-legged, eight-headed, sixteen-armed Hevajra holds skull cups or kapala (Tib: thod-pa) in each hand, supporting a host of beings including an elephant and the earth-goddess Prithvi in his primary hands. The eight animals in his proper-right hands represent a variety of diseases that he can eradicate, while the eight Hindu deities in his proper-left hands indicate his embodiment of each of their divine powers. Nairatmya holds her own blood-filled skull cup around Hevajra’s neck and grips a curved knife (Tib: dri-kug), symbolizing her ability to cut through the ignorance and delusion of our conventional world.
The cycle of teachings surrounding Hevajra and Nairatmya originated during or prior to the tenth century with early Indian masters and progenitors of Tantric Buddhism and was likely formalized in the context of the great monastic university, Vikramashila, in the Pala Kingdom of Northeastern India. The mahasiddha Virupa is said to have received these important teachings directly from the Wisdom Dakini, or Yeshe Kandroma, who received them from the primordial buddha Vajradhara.
The Hevajra Tantra rose to prominence within the Tibetan Sakya tradition by the eleventh century and Hevajra remains the most important yidam or meditational deity for Sakyapas today. Well known Sakya lama and translator Drogmi Lotsawa Shakya Yeshe (993-1074/87) was instrumental in strengthening the Sakya tradition as the codifier of the thirty-nine most important Hevajra commentaries and rituals. The first Sakya throne holder, Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092–1158), was equally as important to its development, as he received direct transmissions from Virupa in the form of visions. He was also deeply steeped in the traditions passed on by Drogmi and initiated others to the teachings.
One can surmise that the present artwork was a commission by a Sakya patron and Hevajra initiate. Within the once preeminent Sakya sect, such elaborate commissions were commonplace. One such commission, also the benchmark for dating the present Hevajra sculpture, is an image of an eleven-armed Avalokiteshvara, illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 453, fig. 124D, attributed by Tibetan art scholar, Jeff Watt by inscription to an artist named Sonam Gyaltsen, who operated out of the Shigatse atelier circa 1430. Shigatse is the city nearest to Sakya monastery and was the most prosperous in fifteenth-century Tibet. The artist likely became known after this important commission for the Sakya institution, Jamchen Chode monastery, which was also close to Shigatse, and his atelier was ostensibly one of the most sophisticated of its time.
Several distinct stylistic traits found in the present sculpture have since been affiliated with characteristics found in a large body of works attributed to the style of the Sonam Gyaltsen atelier, including examples in museums, private collections, and works offered for sale at auction. These distinguishable features include the richest gilding atop a pinkish copper alloy, heavy inlaid-turquoise ornamentation, carefully and softly sculptured lotus petals, and lifelike physical features. Some works from this ever-expanding milieu appear clearly to be by the hand of the master, while others are clearly derivative, yet nearly as exquisite. The subject sculpture is likely from the esteemed Shigatse atelier, as confirmed by Jeff Watt. Though there are notable differences between the present sculpture and the Avalokiteshvara attributed by inscription to the hand of Sonam Gyaltsen, many elements of his style are apparent here. Its relatively large size and outstanding condition make it particularly exceptional.