£137,500
Auction: 16 March 2022 at 10:00 GMT
清 銅鎏金密勒日巴坐像
cast seated on a double lotus throne in lalitasana, the sage wears a loose robe with his upper body exposed, a yoga band wraps around his left body across the right shin, his meditative face looks slightly to the right with gently tilted head, right arm rested on right thigh with palm raised, left hand set with a kapala tucked on the lap, the base sealed with a plaque incised with double-vajras, lower back of the throne engraved with Tibetan inscriptions
Provenance: Acquired directly from Tibet by British Diplomat and Tibetologist Hugh Edward Richardson (1905-2000), thence by descent
Note: Most often depicted with a hand raised to his ear in a listening gesture, Milarepa was a hermit yogi and poet, much-respected and known by the Tibetan people. As a renowned poet, his listening gesture symbolises his unique way of imparting Buddhist's wisdom through songs. The skull cap or kapala vessel is a reminder of the impermanence of life, and the inevitable death, which through the practice of Buddhism, one can achieve enlightenment and be released from Samsara. A silvered copper alloy Milarepa, dated to the 15th century, and with a similar gesture, was sold by Bonhams New York, 13 March 2017, lot 3025