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Lot 64a

A FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF CHANGKYA ROLPAI DORJE (1717-1786)

Estimated Value:

8.000 € - 12.000 €

Schätzpreis:

Description:

Tibet, 18th c.
h. 17,8 cm
Seated with legs crossed on a double cushion covered with a blanket, the former incised to the front with various musters, his right hand in vitarkamudra while the left is resting on his lap, wearing monastic garb including a heavy pleated mantle covering both shoulders, the under garment finely incised with various designs, his face displaying a serene expression with downcast eyes below arched eyebrows, the right side of the face showing the distinctive congenital bump of the master. Unsealed.
South German private collection
The Changkya Hutuktu is associated with the Mongolian Geluk lineage, the primary seat located in Chamgkya in Kham in Eastern Tibet. Rolpai Dorje was recognized as the reincarnation of Ngawang Losang Choden (1642-1714), the previous Changkya Hutuktu and spiritual adviser to the Kangxi Emperor (1662-1722). Educated at the imperial court of the Yongzheng Emperor (1723-1735), Rolpai Dorje formed a strong relationship with his fellow student, the future Qianlong Emperor (1736-1796).
Rolpai Dorje was highly accomplished - he acted as political adviser to the Emperor, strengthening relations between Tibet, China, and Mongolia; he was a well-known scholar and translator, completing translations of the Tripitaka into Mongolian, Chinese and Manchu; he was involved in the building projects of monasteries and temples; and he managed the Imperial Palace collection of Buddhist art
Here, the hierarch wears the mitre-shaped hat affiliated with the Changkya Hutuku lamas and bears his distinctive mark of a small growth on the right side of his face. Other examples of Rolpai Dorje in bronze can be seen in The Jacques Marchais Museum of Tibetan Art (Cat. 85.04.0162) and in the Field Museum of Natural History. A larger example is published in Donald Dinwiddie, ed., Portraits of the Masters, 2003, pp. 328-9, cat. no. 94
Minor wear