353 - SETAED WOOD TARA NEPAL 19TH CENTURY

SETAED WOOD TARA NEPAL 19TH CENTURY Dimensions: Height 16,1 cm Wide 11 cm Depth 9 cm Weight: 238 grams A finely carved Nepalese wood Tara seated in a relaxed posture on a double-lotus base. The goddess inclines gently to one side, one hand raised before the chest in a graceful gesture while the other rests open on the knee. Her hair is gathered into a high topknot and she wears a broad floral necklace, armlets and an ornamented belt. Behind one shoulder rises a large lotus with a tightly closed bud, visually balancing the turn of the head and the asymmetry of the seated pose. Tara is one of the most beloved female bodhisattvas of Himalayan Buddhism, associated with compassion, protection and swift assistance. Her images are often deliberately approachable: rather than rigid frontality, sculptors favour a slight turn of the torso, relaxed leg and gentle hand gestures. This wooden figure captures that quality particularly well, giving the goddess an intimate, almost conversational presence. The material contributes strongly to the effect. Dark brown wood has been polished on the face, torso and hands, while the carved recesses remain deeper and more matte. Small age cracks are visible in the lotus base and other areas, but they also reveal the sculpture's construction and long material life. The result is a warm, tactile devotional image very different in character from a gilt-bronze Tara.