STATUETTE DE CHAKRASAMVARA ET VAJRAVARHI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ ET ARGENT REPOUSSÉTIBET, XVE/XVIE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 488420.3 cm (8 in.) highProvenance: A GILT COPPER ALLOY AND SILVER REPOUSSÉ FIGURE OF CHAKRASAMVARA AND VAJRAVARHITIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY西藏 十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金及銀錘揲勝樂金剛與金剛亥母像Provenance:With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970sThis exceptional gilt bronze depicts the meditational deity (yidam) Chakrasamvara (lit. 'Wheel of Bliss')prised of male and female enlightened beings depicted in a sexual embrace, symbolic of the transcendent bliss that skilled Tantric practitioners experience onpletion of theChakrasamvara Tantra. Visualized as gendered embodiments of perfected wisdom (female) andpassion (male) merging into a perfected, interpenetrative union, Vajravarahi is embraced by Samvara whose arms are crossed at center holding thevajra andghanta in a gesture signifying the successful integration of Tantra's two highest qualities.Richly ornamented with jewelry and inset gems, theplexity of this multi-armed deity overlaid with such detail, illustrates a mastery of the casting processing from Nepal. The skull crown adorned with floral pendants, armlets and wrist bands, beaded swags and sashes, are all lavishly inset with turquoise as one entity. Certain elements, such as the implements ofvajra,ghanta,damaru, and skullcup, are separately cast, as evident on other examples of the deity (HAR 2709).Gilt bronze figures of Chakrasamvara demanded the best craftsmen in order to produceplex meditational images that could both express and inspire the most exquisite state of mind. Chakrasamvara features prominently across all Tibetan Buddhist schools, and is the principal transformative deity for both the Kagyu and Sakya lineages. The Phagmodrupa Kagyu sect installed Chakrasamvara as the principal deity of Drigung monastery in Lhasa (founded 1179).Rising to great prominence in the 14th to 16th centuries, the Kagyu and Sakya orders formed strong ties with the imperial Yuan and Ming courts, and Tibetan Buddhist iconography strongly informed Buddhist art of the early Ming period. Images of Chakrasamvara proliferated during this exchange, as evidenced by a spectacular example from the Yongle period, sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 7 October 2007, lot 810.