Dipankara is the Buddha of the age preceding the time and cosmic era of Shakyamuni Buddha. According to legend, a rich Brahmin named Sumati saw that Dipankara was about to step into a puddle of water. To prevent him from soiling his feet, Sumati laid his long hair across the puddle. Following this event, Dipankara prophesied Sumati’s rebirth as the future Buddha. In Nepal, images of Dipankara are worshipped as icons bestowing charity and protecting merchants. Beyond Nepal, Dipankara is rarely worshipped in other parts of the Himalayas, Tibet or surrounding regions. In Tibetan art, Dipankara is almost always depicted alongside Shakyamuni Buddha and the bodhisattva Maitreya (depicted as a Buddha). These three are collectively known as the Buddhas of the Three Times and are often arranged in a triptych.
Dipankara in this lot stands on a lotus base, with his left hand in varadamudra (the gesture of charity) and his right hand in abhayamudra (the gesture of fearlessness). He is dressed in a richly decorated monk’s robe, carefully incised with geometric and floral patterns. His serene face is flanked by pendant earrings and crowned by a tiara of semiprecious gemstones, further indicating his role as an icon of charity. His hair is styled in a chignon, with locks cascading over the shoulders, a fashion prevalent among Nepali representations during this period.
A very similar gilt bronze figure of Dipankara Buddha, though more ornamented, is housed at the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, California (acc. no. M.1974.13.S). Another similar but more simplistically decorated Dipankara was sold at Christie’s New York on 28 September 2021, lot 100, for $7,500.