A rare gilt-bronze group of Vajrasattva in union with VajramamaniNepal, dated by inscription to 1825 and of the period
The deity and his consort skilfully modelled, tightly embracing each other with Vajrasattva's principal hands holding a vajra and a ghanta and the consort's hands holding a chopper and a skull cup, richly embellished with a multi-pointed tiara, beaded earrings, necklaces, armlets and bracelets, seated on a double-lotus pedestal, the back of the pedestal with a long Newari inscription. 19.3cm (7 1/2in) high.注脚尼泊爾 1825年 銅鎏金金剛薩埵像

Himalayan Art Resources item no.16778
喜馬拉雅藝術資源網16778號

Provenance:
Henry Harrison Getty (1838-1919), by repute
Alice Getty (d.1946), by repute
Courtenay Morgan, Viscount Tredegar (1867-1934), by repute
Evan Morgan, 2nd Viscount Tredegar (1893-1949), by repute
Professor and Mrs Bellerby, by repute
Mark Dineley (1901-1975)
Peter Dineley (1938-2018), and thence by descent

Noted in the handwritten family 'A Catalogue of the Dineley Collection of Tibetiana and Associated Buddhistic Objects', early 1960s, p.117.

來源：
傳亨利·哈里遜·蓋蒂舊藏（1838-1919年）
傳愛麗絲·蓋蒂舊藏（卒於1946年）
傳卓德嘉子爵考特尼·摩根舊藏（1867-1934年）
傳特里迪格子爵二世艾文·摩根舊藏（1893-1949年）
傳貝勒比教授及夫人舊藏
馬克·戴尼利舊藏（1901-1975年）
彼得·戴尼利舊藏（1938-2018年），並由家族繼承

記載於戴尼利家族手稿《戴尼利家族的西藏州和相關的佛教物品收藏目錄》'A Catalogue of the Dineley Collection of Tibetiana and Associated Buddhistic Objects'，1960年代初，頁117。

A Newari inscription at the back of the base, translates as 'on the second of the dark half of Phārgun [phālgun], in the [Nepal Samvat] year 945 [CE 1825], Biladhaṃsiṃ made (this) image of Vajrasattva in the name of his son Buddhasiṃ. [May it be] auspicious'.

底座背面刻有尼瓦爾文銘文，譯為：「於尼泊爾旃陀羅曆945年11月2日（公元1825年，2月至3月），Biladhaṃsiṃ以其兒子Buddhasiṃ之名造此金剛薩埵像。[祈請] 吉祥。」

Please refer to Lot 14 for more information on Vajrasattva.

It is rare to find Vajrasattva with consort in sculpture compared to paintings. A Tibetan thangka of Nyingma lineage, 18th century, with similar depiction of the deities is in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (acc.no.P1999.10.4); see also a further thangka, 18th century, which was sold at Christie's New York, 21 September 2005, lot 127.

Compare with a related Tibetan Vajrasattva, illustrated by G.Beguin, Dieux et Démons de l'Himalaya, Paris, 1979, p.151, no.148; another example with a Tibetan inscription is illustrated by A.K.Gordon, The Iconography of Tibetan Lamaism, Tokyo, 1959, p.50. See also a related copper-alloy figure of Vajrasattva Heruka, Tibet, 13th/14th century, which was sold at Bonhams New York, 13 March 2017, lot 3024.

金剛薩埵頭戴寶冠，身佩瓔珞，柳葉眉，低垂目，口微張，髮披兩肩，背插火焰紋背光，臂繞飄帶，右手持金剛杵，左右握金剛鈴，全跏趺坐，懷抱金剛亥母，亥母頭戴寶冠，舌外吐，親吻金剛薩埵，右手鉞刀，左手托顱碗，下承仰覆蓮座，緣起一周連珠紋。

金剛薩埵與佛母組合的造像並不多見，唐卡較為普遍，可參考一件西藏十八世紀金剛薩埵唐卡所描繪的金剛薩埵和佛母形象，紐約佳士得，2005年9月21日，拍品編號127。另可比較一件Al Farahnick收藏西藏金剛薩埵像，見G.Beguin著，《Dieux et Démons de l'Himalaya》，巴黎，1979年，頁151，編號148；以及一件十三/十四世紀金剛薩埵嘿噜嘎像，2017年3月13日售於紐約邦瀚斯，拍品編號3024。

PLEASE REFER TO THE E-CATALOGUE FOR A FULL RESEARCH ARTICLE BY LUO WENHUA, RESEARCH FELLOW AT THE PALACE MUSEUM, BEIJING

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