A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A KARMAPA LAMA TIBET, 16TH CENTURYA GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF A KARMAPA LAMATIBET, 16TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no. 21269 36 cm (14 1/8 in.) high西藏 十六世紀 銅鎏金噶瑪巴像This large gilt-bronze is crowned by a distinctive 'black hat' with inverted flaps that identifies him as a Karmapa of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Founded by Dusum Kyenpa (1110-93), the Karmapas were the first to establish a line of successive teachers through reincarnation. Fated to become the next Buddha after Maitreya, the Karmapa extends his right hand downward in the earth-witnessing gesture, mirroring the historical Buddha's enlightenment beneath the Bodhi Tree at Bodh Gaya. Compare the following work's hat and robe, consisting of incised flowers and honeycomb-like patterns, to two other gilt-bronze Karmapas in Himalayan Art Resources (HAR 10759 & 202849). Also compare with an image of the Third Karmapa (HAR 10706), whose tall lotus base and bulky outer robe have much in common with the present lot.Provenance:Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s