514 - BRONZE PEDESTRAL NEPAL 18TH CENTURY

BRONZE PEDESTRAL NEPAL 18TH CENTURY Dimensions: Height 16 cm Wide 15 cm Depth 13 cm Weight: 1220 grams A hexagonal Nepalese bronze pedestal surmounted by a double-lotus support and a circular socket intended to receive a separately cast sacred figure. The faceted sides are divided into recessed panels containing small standing deities, while projecting ribs articulate the corners. Above, two rows of rounded lotus petals soften the transition from the architectural base to the missing image. In Himalayan Buddhist sculpture the pedestal is not merely structural. The lotus signifies purity and spiritual awakening, while subsidiary figures can extend the iconographic programme of the principal deity above. Separate bases also allowed complex ensembles to be assembled from individually cast components. Although the original figure is no longer present, the pedestal remains an informative devotional object in its own right. Its combination of geometric architecture, miniature figures and lotus ornament demonstrates how much symbolic and decorative attention could be devoted to the support beneath a sacred image.