A gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha, Tibet, 16th century

Midwest Private Collection, 1970s (by repute).

Christie’s New York, 21st March 2008, lot 609.

This fine, small gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni Buddha depicts him upon the vajrasana or ‘diamond throne’, as indicated by the vajra or dorje that sits before him. As such, he is known in Tibetan as tub-pa dorje-den. Seated atop a double-lotus base, he displays the bhumisparshamudra, or earth-touching gesture, calling witness to his enlightenment. His aquiline nose and the incised decoration on the hem of the figure’s robe, which wraps around the proper-left arm, point to the Newar influence on the style of this Tibetan bronze. Yet the schematized lotus petals and lapis applied to the roundels and ushnisha beneath a cintamani (an auspicious jewel ornament atop his cranial protuberance), point to a Tibetan origin.