Beschreibung:

Lot details Opinion: The particularly well-proportioned female image, possibly Prjanaparamita, with its simple yet sensuous appearance is – at first glance – evocative of high Newari craftsmanship, popularly commissioned by wealthy Tibetan monastic patrons during the 14th and 15th centuries. However, after looking at some of the characteristics more closely, several distinct features make an attribution to the Densatil monastery seem more appropriate. Chief among the diagnostic traits that can identify a work from the Densatil are the convexly stepped eyebrows and the precisely incised double-lined eyelids and lips. The oval pinna, remotely signifying a lotus-petal, from which the lavish hairbands issue seamlessly, is another unequivocal feature, as are the extra-thick and heavy casting overall and the leaning head, which indicates that the present lot may once have been part of a larger supporting structure. For example compare a gilt bronze support, Densatil, 15th century, at Christie’s New York, 27 March 2003, lot 105. Finally, the harrowing brutality to which this image was evidently exposed is a silent monument to the destruction of Densatil during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1978), where one of the most inspiring cultural heritages of mankind became victim to an unconscionable mob. Superbly cast, richly adorned with a beaded and a floral necklace above her voluptuous breasts as well as lotiform armlets, the face with a serene expression, the eyes with distinct sinuous lids and raised brows, both heightened with subtle incision work, as well as full lips forming a calm smile, the neatly incised hair parted in the middle and secured by a tiara. Provenance: From a private collection in Paris, France. Condition: Condition overall as expected and commensurate with age. Extensive wear and losses. Dents, nicks, scratches and battering. Wear to gilt. All semi-precious stone inlays are now lost. Several distinct ritual patches. Weight: 3,472 g Dimensions: Height 33 cm Heavily cast gilt copper-alloy figures of this type are characteristic of the Densatil style, a Kagyu monastic complex in central Tibet, southeast of Lhasa, that has long been considered one of the great treasures of Tibet. Founded in the late 12th century, it enjoyed generous patronage and was lavishly decorated during a period of expansion from circa 1360 until the early 16th century. The monastery was known for eight extraordinary memorial stupas symbolizing Buddha's first teaching in Benares. These stupas were called tashi gomang, meaning "many doors of auspiciousness," and were multi-tiered copper-alloy structures filled with deities such as the present example, standing more than ten feet tall and resplendent with inlays of semiprecious stones. Prior to the destruction of Densatil during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1978), eight of them dating between 1208 and 1432 stood in the Monastery’s main hall. Followers of the charismatic Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170) constructed the Densatil Monastery. His school, which came to be known as Phagmo Drupa Kagyu, was one of the four primary schools of the Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. Its noble house became so powerful that their dynasty ruled from the mid-fourteenth to the mid-fifteenth century. Eventually it had died out by the end of the seventeenth century, but the Densatil Monastery survived intact under the control of other Tibetan Buddhist schools until it was eventually destroyed. Today the monastery is undergoing reconstruction thanks to the efforts of the Tibetan Autonomous Region Ministry of Culture and the Drigung (Drikung) Kagyu school. Literature comparison: Compare with a statue of Prajnaparamita from tier 3 of the tashi gomang stupas, dating to 1370, in About the 18 stupas and other treasures once at the Densatil monastery, by Jean-Luc Estournel, September 2020. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s New York, 19 March 2014, lot 1016 Price: USD 617,000 or approx