A BRONZE FIGURE OF PADMAPANI, WESTERN TIBET, PROBABLY LADAKH, 12TH TO EARLY 13TH CENTURY

A BRONZE FIGURE OF PADMAPANI, WESTERN TIBET, PROBABLY LADAKH, 12TH TO EARLY 13TH CENTURY Published: Friedrich Georg Zeleis, ‘Sacred and Secular from Gandhara to Lhasa and along the Silk Road’, 2004, p. 266-267, no. 95. Finely cast, standing in tribhanga on a circular base, holding a ghanta in his lowered right hand, placing his left hand on his hip while holding the stem of a lotus blossom. Wearing a diaphanous dhoti around his waist and a sash around his shoulder linked by an animal-head pendant, adorned with beaded jewelry, and wearing a stylized thatagata crown securing his tall chignon. His serene face with almond-shape eyes, full lips, and sinuous brows. Provenance: From the collection of Friedrich Zeileis, by repute acquired in the early 1980s. Private collection in Hungary, acquired in the German trade. Condition: Good condition, commensurate with age, with wear, small nicks, casting irregularities, remnants of silvering to the eyes, and the lotus blossoms on his shoulder lost prior to the publication of this piece. The bronze displaying a fine, naturally grown patina. Weight: 502 g (incl. stand) Dimensions: Height 15 cm (incl. stand), 14 cm (excl. stand) Mounted on a modern bronze stand. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related bronze figure of Padmapani similarly posed holding a ghanta, 8.7 cm high, dated 11th-12th century, in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, accession number EA1995.154. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 September 2022, lot 406 Price: USD 32,760 or approx. EUR 33,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A bronze figure of eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara, Western Tibet, Probably Guge, 11th-12th century Expert remark: Compare the related style of casting and similar modeling. Note the different manifestation of Avalokiteshvara. Note the similar size (12.7 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 17 December 2021, lot 3016 Price: HKD 100,800 or approx. EUR 12,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A small bronze figure of Avalokiteshvara, Tibet, circa 11th century Expert remark: Compare the similar ware and casting style albeit of a different manifestation of Avalokiteshvara seated. Note the smaller size (9 cm).