A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VASUDHARA NEPAL, 12TH/13TH CENTURYA GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF VASUDHARANEPAL, 12TH/13TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.4509 6 in. (15.3 cm) high尼泊爾 十二/十三世紀 銅鎏金財源天母像Portrayed as a beautiful young girl, Vasudhara ("stream of gems") is a beloved goddess of prosperity in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. This Vasudhara's soft, sensuous physique, regalia, and high-copper casting are classic characteristics of the Nepalese aesthetic. A Vasudhara attributed to the 12th century in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (M.79.9.5) displays similar large encasings for her gemstones, as well as the sutra also arising from a lotus and being held very close to the goddess's head. The nuance to the present example's poise also suggests a 12th-/13th-century dating. By contrast, a 14th-/15th-century example of Vasudhara in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1983.547) provides a good foil for the present example's earlier attribution. Provenance: Richard Olson, USAPrivate Swiss Collection, acquired in 1970s