A SILVER INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF KALAJAMBHALA


TIBET, 12TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61646 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.) high
|西藏 十二世纪 銅錯銀黑財神像Jambhala is a popular Buddhist wealth deity who dispenses prosperity. He represents the Buddhist absorption of Kubera, the ancient Indian god of wealth and king of nature spirits (yakshas). This black (kala) form of Jambhala was popularized in Tibet by Bari Lotsawa (b.1040). Small sculptures, such as the present, are used in rituals by monks to ensure their sustenance so that they can keep focused on their training. Compare with a similar bronze published in von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p.172, no.30B.Provenance Prof. Don Handelman, 2008