A GILT AND POLYCHROMED COPPER REPOUSSÉ MANDALA PANELWITH INDRA AND KANHAPA


NEPAL OR TIBET, CIRCA 14TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.68444 13 x 21 in. (33 x 53.4 cm)
|尼泊爾或西藏 約十四世紀 彩繪銅鎏金錘揲因陀羅與噶那巴壇城飾板 Once a part of a glorious sculptural mandala, this fine Newari gilt and red painted repoussé panel depicts two scenes from its eastern perimeter, divided by the mythical Great Tree, Shirisha. On the left, Indra sits on his elephant, Airavata, being propitiated by a serpent king and queen. On the right, Mahasiddha Kanhapa rides a zombie in the charnel grounds, assisted by broad-bellied Acala. The panel's bands of finely articulated flames, vajras, and lotus petals correlate to protective rings that commonly form part of a tantric Buddhist mandala. The panel's fine repoussé and pigmented background indicate the work of a Newari master craftsmen. So too, does its classic Newari representation of Indra, with his lithe pose and broad diadem. However, the location and patron of this great mandala may have been in Tibet. A closely related pair of Newari repoussé plaques from the same, 14th-century period were sold at Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2016, lot 13. Published Martin Brauen, Mandala: Sacred Circle in Tibetan Buddhism, New York, 2009, fig.1.10. Franco Ricca, Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Turin, 2004, fig. IV.71. David Weldon and Jane Casey Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, London, 1999, p.75, fig.46. Exhibited The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet: Buddhist Art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 6 October - 30 December 1999. Arte Buddhista Tibetana: Dei e Demoni dell' Himalaya, Palazzo Bricherasio, Turin, June –September 2004. Mandala: The Perfect Circle, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 14 August 2009 - 11 January 2010. Mandala: Scared Circle in Tibetan Buddhism, Michael C. Carlos Museum, Emory University, Atlanta, 21 January - 15 April 2012. Provenance The Nyingjei Lam Collection On loan to the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, 1996–2005 On loan to the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 2005–2019