A COPPER FIGURE OF CHAKRASAMVARA


NEPAL, 15TH/16TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61654 10 cm (4 in.) high
|尼泊爾 十五/十六世紀 勝樂金剛銅像This small but exquisite figure represents the yidam Chakrasamvara (lit. "Wheel of Bliss"), among of the most prolific transformational practices in Tibetan Buddhism. Samvara is depicted with his consort Vajravarahi in erotic embrace, a metaphor for the interconnected union of perfected wisdom and perfected compassion that culminate in Buddhahood.All of the yidam's symbolic attributes are meticulously rendered, including the vajra and ghanta in his principal hands, and a drum, an axe, a trident, a curved knife, a lasso, a skull cup, an elephant skin, and the severed head of Brahma. The figure would likely have been part of a sculptural mandala, being placed at the center of a lotus and only visible when the petals are opened (cf. von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong, 2001, pp.306-7, no.104C).ProvenanceJohn Barnett, London, 2016