A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF KUNZANG AKOR


TIBET, 14TH/15TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61927 7 in. (17.9 cm) high
|西藏 十四/十五世紀 銅鎏金貢桑阿闊像 Among Bonpo deities, Kunzang Akor is one of the most popular and frequently represented in bronze sculptures. He is often recognized by the presence of the Tibetan letter "A" on his chest. As explained by Per Kvaerne, "A is the final letter of the Tibetan alphabet, inherent in all the consonants; it is a phonetic symbol of Primeval or Absolute Reality" (Per Kvaerne, The Bon Religion of Tibet, Boston, 1996, p.29). See another gilt bronze figure of Kunzang Akor with a similar slender body type in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (B87B1).