WESTERN TIBET, 11TH CENTURY

The regions of Western Tibet in the tenth through twelfth centuries experienced a tremendous growth of religious activity after the second dissemination of Buddhism. Several Buddhist monasteries were founded in the region during this time, and this combined with the increase in lay Buddhist adherents in the general population, precipitated a need for Buddhist imagery to be used as part of worship. Previously, Buddhist images had been imported into the region from neighboring Kashmir, and to a lesser extent, the Pala regions of Northeastern India; increased demand, however, meant workshops in Western Tibet began to spring up, often employing artisans and craftsmen from surrounding areas. The products of these early workshops undeniably show the influence of Kashmiri art from the tenth century onwards – most of the idioms are borrowed directly from contemporaneous Kashmiri Buddhist imagery, albeit with somewhat provincial qualities demonstrating the budding experience of the regions artists. The present work, however, is demonstrative of some of the finer examples that these early ateliers were capable of producing: Large in size and skillfully cast with resplendent drapery, beaded jewelry, and flowing sashes, the figure reflects the fine tradition imported into the area. The figure stands in a pronounced tribhanga pose with the right arm extended and the left holding the stem of the lotus blossom. The folds of the dhoti cling to the long legs, with the excess material falling in artful piles between the thighs, and the ribbons of the headdress join with the flowing sash to create the effect of an aureole. The face is set with elongated eyes typical of the Kashmiri idiom, and the petaled crown is centered by a diminutive image of Amitabha. Compare the present work with a bronze figure of Vajrapani dated to the eleventh-twelfth century in the Collection Folker illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 175, fig. 31H; although not as finely chased as the Folker example, the present work has a more graceful pose and similar ornamentation in the necklace and crown and an almost identical depiction of the facial features.