AN EXCELLENT FIRE-GILT BRONZE OF GUHYASAMAJA WITH STONE INLAYS

Description:

Tibet, 15th c.
H. 15,2 cm
Guhyasamaja sits in vajrasana (crossed legs) on a double lotus throne and is depicted with three heads and six arms. His prajna has the same number of heads and arms; she is depicted in a sexual embrace around her partner, two of her raised hands around his neck and her legs around his middle. On their heads they wear crowns and their hair is tied in a high bun crowned by a cintamani (flaming pearl). The sign of enlightenment (the urna) is depicted on all foreheads. Both deities are adorned with earrings, necklaces, bracelets, anklets, thongs, shawls, beaded belts and ornaments. Although the two gods are complementary, they both have the same number of arms, legs and feet as well as similar attributes. Guhyasamaja's hands are crossed in front of his chest and hold a vajra (thunderbolt) and a ghanta (bell with a vajra handle). His right hands hold a padma (lotus flower and symbol of purity and spiritual elevation) and a cakra (the wheel of Buddhist law). In his left hand he holds a khadga (sword for the protection of wisdom) and a cintamani (a flaming pearl). Later base plate engraved with a Vishvavajra, the symbol for the four cardinal points of the universe.
Southern German private collection, acquired at Christie's London, 22 November 1978, lot 72 and since then in private ownership
The Guhyasamaja Tantra is one of the oldest and most fundamental texts of Vajrayana Buddhism. Guhyasamaja is one of the first and most important gods of the Tantric Buddhist pantheon; an emanation of the cosmic Buddha Aksobhya, the embodiment of consciousness, in his Yi-Dam form (as a Buddhist protector). The manifestation of Guhyasamaja was particularly favoured by the Geluk order; his name implies a secret association or assembly of the secret ones. This lord of the diamond body, speech and mind, who encompasses all cosmic Buddhas, holds his prajna (female consort) in sexual embrace (yab-yum). The goddess is believed to radiate an energy and fierceness that contrasts and complements the serene countenance of her male counterpart
The sculpture represents a significant style group of Tibetan gilt-bronzes that developed in the fifteenth century, with intricate and slender modeling compared to the more robust sculpture of the fourteenth century, and often inset solely with turquoise to the exclusion of other stones. The style was espoused by the artist Sonam Gyaltsen who was active in the first half of the century: compare a standing Avalokiteshvara by the artist, see Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/items/61516 - Good condition, very minor wear to gilding