MONGOLIE, ÉCOLE DE ZANABAZAR XVIIIe SIÈCLE

= Gilded bronze statue representing Vajradhara seated in vajrasana on a double lotiform base, arms intertwined in front of the chest, left hand holding a double vajra, right hand holding a gantha bell. He is dressed in a fine dhoti embellished with chiseled scrolls, floating scarves falling elegantly to the sides, adorned with numerous jewels, his forehead encircled by a five-flowered crown and his hair styled in a high bun. The face, characteristic of the school of Zanabazar, with marked eyebrows enhancing an aquiline nose. The base unsealed. H. 20 cm PROVENANCE Purchased in November 2005 from the Galerie Kubera, Nice. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. R. A similar piece, from the Altangerel collection, illustrated in "Trésors du Bouddhisme au pays de Gengis Khan", Musée des Arts Asiatiques, Nice, 2009, n°35, p. 127. NOTE It was the expansion of the Mongolian empire in the 13th century by the sons and grandsons of Genghis Khan that brought Buddhism to Mongolia. Indeed, after the conquest of Tibet, lamas were brought to the Mongolian court where their knowledge and erudition impressed the ruling class. The most famous of them, Phagpa, who became imperial preceptor and administrator of religious affairs, was responsible for the creation of the Mongolian square script. In 1260, Khubilai Khan, the first emperor of the Mongolian Yuan dynasty, declared Tibetan Buddhism to be the state religion, establishing at the same time regular relations between the Mongolian sovereigns and the Sakyapa monks. Buddhism experienced a second renaissance in the 16th century, with a wave of massive conversion of the population, the foundation of numerous monasteries and an intense activity of translation of the canons and holy writings. It is in this context of intense religious activity that Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (1635 - 1723) was born. At the age of five, he became the first Bogd Gegeen, the spiritual leader of Gelugpa Buddhism in Mongolia, reincarnation of the Tibetan lama and scholar Taranatha. The figure of Zanabazar ("Vajra of Knowledge") was to have a lasting impact on the Mongolian 17th century, both from a political and artistic point of view. He founded an important sculpture workshop within the monastery of Tövkhön where he created with his disciples Buddhist bronzes which were to populate the numerous monasteries that he founded throughout the Mongolian territory. He is the craftsman of a Mongolian "Renaissance", implementing a characteristic style, inspired by the Tibetan and Nepalese productions that he admired during his stays in Tibet, to which he infuses his own vision. The piece we are presenting is in line with the works of Zanabazar, taking up the stylistic canons created by the master, notably the delicate workmanship of the statues finely gilded with mercury amalgam, the face with high and arched eyebrows surmounting an aquiline nose. The deity who is represented, Vajradhara, occupies a prominent place in the practice of Tantric Buddhism in Mongolia. Vajradhara (Ochirdari in Mongolian) is an aspect of the Primordial Buddha (Adhibuddha), personifying the fundamental purity of the mind. During his trip to Tibet between 1649 and 1651, Zanabazar was initiated by the Fifth Dalai Lama into the Vajradhara cycle, and throughout his life he maintained a special veneration for the Supreme Buddha. CONDITION REPORT Wear to the gilt, scratches, the base unsealed