Tibetan-Chinese, 18^th century. The yidam and consort striding in alidhasana trampling a menagerie of geese and goats raised on prone figures of deities on a separate beaded lotus throne. The central ferocious buffalo face surrounded by six human faces and two above, the primary hands wrapped around his consort holding a knife and skull cup, the other arms radiating around him and held in karana mudra. Richly adorned with elaborate beaded jewelry and a garland of severed heads.

Provenance: From a European private collection, assembled in the 1960s and 1970s.
Condition: Very good condition with old wear and minor casting flaws, few minuscule nicks, occasional light scratches, remnants of pigment, the inlays lost.

Weight: 6,269 g
Dimensions: Height 28.5 cm

This powerfully cast figure of Vajrabhairava with his consort Vajra Vetali is a fine example of Buddhist sculptures commissioned under the fertile cross-influence between the Imperial Court and Tibetan monastic seats of power during the mid-Qing dynasty. This impressive and heavily cast figure of Vajrabhairava is skillfully constructed in several pieces and fitted together.

The ferocious god Vajrabhairava is the wrathful form of Manjushri and a revered meditational deity in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, the dominant religious power in Tibet in the seventeenth century. Vajrabhairava also became a prominent Buddhist icon in China under the Qing emperors, who maintained direct links with the dignitaries of the Gelugpa sect, including the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. This form of Buddhism flourished within China under Qing rule, inspiring the construction of numerous temples in and around the capital of Beijing.

In the eighteenth century, the Qianlong Emperor promoted himself as a manifestation of Manjushri, establishing his role as a spiritual and political leader. Images of Vajrabhairava, therefore, carried both religious and political implications, promoting Gelugpa spiritual practice while simultaneously endorsing the heavenly mandate of the Emperor.

Literature comparison: Compare a similar figure illustrated by Hung Shih Chang and Jessica P.P. Hsu, eds., Buddhist Art from Rehol: Tibetan Buddhist Images and Ritual Objects from the Qing Dynasty Summer Palace at Chengde, Taipei, 1999, p. 122, pl. 46.

Auction result comparison: Compare a closely related but slightly larger (37 cm high) Tibetan-Chinese gilt bronze figure of Vajrabhairava and Vajra Vetali, also dated to the Qianlong period, at Christie’s New York in Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art on 13 September 2017, lot 625, sold for USD 118,750, and another, also dated to the 18^th century, of slightly smaller size (23 cm high), at Bonhams Hong Kong in Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art on 29 May 2018, lot 13, sold for HKD 1,250,000.

乾隆時期銅鎏金大威德金剛及明妃像
漢藏，十八世紀。大威德金剛及明妃腳踏一群鵝和山羊，立於蓮座上。忿怒的水牛臉金剛被八張人臉包圍，主手擁抱著他的明妃，手裡拿著一把刀和骷髏杯，其他的手環繞著他，施驅魔印。 飾有精美的串珠首飾和一個由斷頭組成的花環。

來源：歐洲私人收藏，購於1960-1970年代。
品相：狀況極好，磨損和輕微鑄造缺陷，微小的劃痕，局部有輕微劃痕，顏料殘留，鑲嵌物丟失。

重量：6,269 克
尺寸：高 28.5 厘米

拍賣結果比較：比較一件相近但更大 (高37 厘米) 的漢藏銅鎏金大威德金剛及明妃，乾隆時期，見紐約佳士得Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Works of Art 2017年9月13日 lot 625, 售價USD 118,750 ；另一件同樣為十八世紀但稍小 (高23 厘米) 的造像，見香港邦翰思Fine Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art 2018年5月29日 lot 13, 售價HKD 1,250,000。