A GILT BRONZE TSONGKHAPA QIANLONGChina, 1736-1795. Fine and heavy fire-gilt bronze with superb incision work. The sealing plate bears crossed vajras.Provenance: Private collection in Texas, USA. By repute acquired in China around 1900 and in the same family ever since. Condition: Magnificent condition with the gilding in almost perfect preservation, some minor wear and a few tiny nicks here and there, the sword slightly bent. Original sealing. Weight: 1097.4 grams.Dimensions: Height 15.5 cm.The Lama is depicted in Vajrasana on a double lotus base, with both hands in dharmacakramudra. Lotuses are flowering along his upper arms supporting his traditional attributes, the manuscript and the sword. His face displays a serene expression with downcast eyes below arched eyebrows. His head is covered with the pointed bonnet decorated with long lappets falling over both shoulders. The garment hems are neatly decorated. Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is a revered Tibetan religious philosopher, and a central of the Gelugpa sect that ruled Tibet until the middle of the 20th century. According to tradition, he is an emanation of the Bodhisattva Manjusri.Compare with a closely related statue, slightly smaller and with missing attributes, also dating to the Qianlong period, at Sotheby’s New York in ‘Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art’, March 19th, 2013, lot 352. Both statue are most likely from the same workshop.乾隆鎏金銅宗喀巴像中國，1736-1795。厚重的鎏金銅鑄造精良，封底上有十字金剛杵。來源：美國德克薩斯私人收藏。據説是1900年前後在中國購得，在同一家族中收藏至今 品相：總體保存極好，一些輕微磨損和刻痕， 劍微微彎曲。原始封底。 重量：1097.4 克尺寸：高15.5 厘米