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Lot
Number
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B000025 |
| Lot
Title |
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Bronze Figure of a Bodhisattva, Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila) |
| Date
of Origin |
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18 Century |
| Country
of Origin |
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Tibet |
| Material
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White Copper |
| Measurements |
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10.5 x 7 (7.5 x 12.5) cm |
| Lot
Quantity |
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1 |
| Estimate |
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| Description:
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Quite boring in ShenZhen by myself, so I went shopping around ShenZhen Antique Market. Typically, very seldom I can find good stuff with reasonable price in there, however, just to try to my luck.
Met with this Mr. Chiu, also came from Taiwan, ran an antique shop in ShenZhen and was doing textile business before retiring. Very nice and generous guy, and kept offering me tea, fruit, but just smoked too much. He has many kind of Buddha collections, including bronze, wooden, stone, and even porcelain. Most of them were collected decades ago in either Taiwan or China. I noticed one small figure of Samantabhadra, price offered was reasonable and I thought that is great, must be my lucky day. I selected several pieces together and was hoping the price would be even better with this package deal. The owner saw I like Buddha very much and really care about them, so offered me a great deal to make a friend with me. I advised him not to smoke too much, and I could bring two bottles of red wine to him when I see him next time. He was very happy about that and kept smiling.
I bought this Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila) together with other three Buddha. With Sino-Tibetan style, made of white color bronze, most of the guardian figures in the market are either made of bronze or gilt bronze, white color bronze is very rare. Mr. Chiu probably put the statue in the closet for a long time and it was all covered by dust, but made the statue even more effect of primitive simplicity. I took a small brush and dusted off the dirt, it then looked much vigor than before. It came with one original small stand, but I did not think it was impressive enough, so I asked another craftsman to make a beautiful sandalwood stand with spring water design. I then respectfully put the Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila) on the new stand, such a great match, and make this statue totally different with very strong style and vigor. I imagined that could because the seated Guanyin (lot 24) I bought earlier brings me good luck, and let me find these great Buddha.
Mr. Chiu told me this statue was theYamantaka or Vajrabhairava, but I knew it was not right. So I checked into this and first thought it was double-bodies Mahakala, but was still not quite sure. After study further, I thought it is more like Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila), but it has no wings (might be lost?), so I still could not be certain about that. After my back and forth research, I still cannot 100 percent sure about, but tentatively called it as Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila), and in the later day, if someone can give me a right direction, I will then update the name.
Dorje Phurba (Skt. Vajrakila) has three heads, and each head has three eyes. The right head represents the anger face of Manjusri - Yamantaka as the representative of all Buddha, the left head represents the anger face of Amitabha ¡V Hayagriva, as the representative of languages of Buddha, The middle head represents the anger face of Mahāsthāmaprāpta ¡V Vajrapani, also as the representative of wills of Buddha.
Dorje Phurba embraces the mother of the Buddha also called as Triptachakra. Triptachakra right hand grabbing Vajra, and left hand holding Kapila, waist wearing leopard leather skirt. |
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| Condition
and Additional Specification: |
The bronze is in an excellent state of preservation. While the high points of the bronze are somewhat rubbed, as can easily be seen in the photos, most of the original skin remains. The details are incised and well delineated. There is some minor encrustation under the base, and on the recessed areas in the back of the sculpture.
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