STATUE DE MAHACHAKRA VAJRAPANI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ TIBET, XVE SIÈCLESTATUE DE MAHACHAKRA VAJRAPANI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉTIBET, XVE SIÈCLEWielding and biting on an original twisted silver-and-copper snake, and standing on an original non-gilded copper alloy base. Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4834 17.4 cm (6 7/8 in.) high A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF MAHACHAKRA VAJRAPANI TIBET, 15TH CENTURY 西藏 十五世紀 銅鎏金大輪金剛手菩薩像 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s As a tantric meditational deity (yidam), Vajrapani manifests with three-faces and six-arms. Sometimes shown with a female consort, he is represented here as a solitary image, trampling on the Hindu gods Shiva and Brahma while imbibing the venom of a poisonous snake. Mahachakra Vajrapani's gesture of reassurance (abhaya-mudra) further conveys his ability to neutralize toxins and subdue ignorance. Albeit wrathful, the sculpture's slightly jovial character, its de-emphasis of the deity's dwarfish potbelly (compared with earlier works), the flowing scarves, and the intricate beaded apron across the legs are indicative of sculptures produced in Central Tibet in the 15th-century. A wrathful Vajrapani in the Jokhang, Lhasa provides a good comparison (fig. 1; Dorje [ed.], Jokhang: Tibet's Most Sacred Buddhist Temple, 2010, p. 268, no. 17C). As does a Vajravidharna sold at Christie's, New York, 31 March 2005, lot 189. Also, compare the jeweled sashes of a figure of Vajravarahi from Densatil in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (AC1996.4.1).