Lot 139. A gilt-copper figure of Vasudhara, Nepal, 14th century. Himalayan Art Resources item no.61637; 21.5 cm (8 1/2 in.) high. Estimate HK$ 1,600,000 - 2,400,000 (€ 170,000 - 260,000). © Bonhams 2001-2018
Provenance: David Weldon, London, 1970-72.
Note: Vasudhara's name means, "Bearer of Treasure"; she is a Buddhist goddess of wealth and abundance. She is particularly revered among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley. She is the consort of the wealth deity Jambhala, but her worship precedes his in Nepal. Also considered the personification of transcendental wisdom, Vasudhara is the Buddhist counterpart to both Lakshmi and Sarasvati, Hindu goddesses of prosperity and wisdom.
This sizeable, heavily cast bronze of Vasudhara is modeled with soft, rounded forms – a hallmark of the Newari aesthetic, showing gods happy and well-nourished. Her six arms radiate naturalistically from her shoulders, spreading in all directions. Vasudhara is richly adorned with extravagant crown, jewelry, and boldly patterned dhoti, accentuating her abundant perfection. She displays the mudras of generosity and reassurance. Vasudhara brings prosperity in its fullest sense, holding treasure vases, grain, jewels, and sutras. She is propitiated not only for wealth and success, but also for fertility, both of land and womb.
Among the many representations of Vasudhara, this six-armed form is largely unique to Nepal. In Tibet, her two-armed form is more common. Compare her rounded physiognomy and patterned dhoti to a related example published in von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures of the Alain Bordier Foundation, Hong Kong, 2010, pp.26-7, no.10B. Also see a smaller figure of the same deity sold at Sotheby's, New York, 26 March 1998, lot 217. Informing her 14th-century date, compare the closely related physiognomy, facial type, jewelry, metallic alloy, and gilding to a Uma Maheshvara, dated by inscription 1345 CE, sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3020.