A GILT COPPER-ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRABHAIRAVA AND VAJRAVETALI Qing dynasty, 18th century

A GILT COPPER-ALLOY FIGURE OF VAJRABHAIRAVA AND VAJRAVETALI Qing dynasty, 18th century 7 3/4 (19.7cm) high, overall Footnotes: Provenance: Private Oregon Estate Private Collection, acquired from the above, 2023 Vajrabhairava arises as a wrathful tantric emanation of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. Originating from Indic sources, his fearsome form derives from one of the avatars of the great Lord Shiva. His iconography depicts him with nine heads in three stacked tiers of which the main face features the head of a buffalo. His primary hands held along the chest carry a skullcup and hooked knife, encircled by thirty other hands each holding an implement. He embraces his consort, Vajravetali, in a yab-yum position, signifying their union of compassion and wisdom. Many of the Qing emperors aligned their own identities to those of the resident bodhisattva, Manjushri. They sought a transnational appeal across China, Mongolia and Tibet through religio-political models of Indo-Tibetan Buddhist kingship that had been employed during the Yuan dynasty. The Qing emperors, though, created a unified bodhisattva persona, establishing themselves as imperial vanguards of both faith and state. As living incarnations, the images of the bodhisattva in his many forms, served to some extent, to enforce their sovereign mandate. Another sculptural example of this wrathful form of Manjushri from the period was sold in our Hong Kong rooms, 29 November 2023, lot 927.   For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing