A GILT COPPER LION THRONE STRUT NEPAL, CIRCA 14TH CENTURYA GILT COPPER LION THRONE STRUTNEPAL, CIRCA 14TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no. 4714 10.5 cm (4 1/8 in.) high尼泊爾 約十四世紀 獅形寶座支柱This gilt-bronze lion is presented with hieratic, powerful legs accentuated by horizontal notches and a thick mane of cascading tresses. These features, which include independent triform tresses at the shoulders, are shared by a seated lion vehicle of Manjuvara dated to the 14th/15th centuries (von Schroder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 361, no. 96B). His commanding presence is amplified by bulging, rock crystal inset eyes and an inset necklace, suggesting its importance as a commission. A close comparison of its form can be seen in a stone lion guarding the entrance to the Changu Narayan temple in Kathmandu (Slusser, Mandala A Cultural Study of the Kathmandu Valley, 1982, no. 47).Given the location of the projecting tang at the top of his head, this lion would have likely supported a 13th-/14th-century image of Vasudhara or the Buddha as a throne support, as seen in an example in the British Museum (1971,0925.1) and another image sold at Cornette de Saint Cyr, Paris, 15 October 2020, lot 60. Published: Nancy Tingley, Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections, Sacramento, 2012, p. 61, no. 12. Exhibited: Celestial Realms: The Art of Nepal from California Collections, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, California, from 20 October 2012 to 10 February 2013. Provenance:Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s