STATUETTE DE LOKESHVARA EN BOIS DE SANTAL NÉPAL, XIE/XIIIE SIÈCLESTATUETTE DE LOKESHVARA EN BOIS DE SANTALNÉPAL, XIE/XIIIE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 205042 66 cm (26 in.) highA SANDALWOOD FIGURE OF LOKESHVARA NEPAL, 11TH/13TH CENTURY 尼泊爾 十一/十三世紀 檀香木雕聖觀自在菩薩像Of the most popular of Buddhist deities represented in Nepal, various forms of Avalokiteshvara are the most common. Origins of the bodhisattva originated in India, but the deity acquired a fervorous cult following in Nepal beginning in the 6th century, precipitating the rendering of the deities in wood, metal and, stone sculpture. The impassioned worship of the deity in the local culture gave rise to a visual syncretism, blending the initial influences of the Gupta dynasty and Pala dynasty into a more distinctive Newar Licchavi style, characterized by their adept woodcarving techniques, as seen here. Features though of the sculpture also associate it with a c. 7th-century Phagpa Lokesvara image in Lhasa, perhaps once the tutelary deity of early Buddhist king Songtsen Gampo (d. c. 649 CE). Ian Alsop has shown that this image, legendarily brought to Tibet from Nepal by Songtsen Gampo, became a sacred icon enshrined in the Phagpa Lokesvara chapel of the Potala (Alsop, "Phagpa Lokesvara of the Potala", Orientations, April 1990, pp. 51-61). Of the defining features of this 7th century type including the high three-leafed crown, the unusual buns forming lobes on the side of the face, the bell-shaped shaped earrings, this sculpture exhibits all but the styling of the earrings. Moreover, replicas of the original show the body unornamented as illustrated von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Vol. 2, 2001, pp. 820-1, nos. 195A-D, whereas this figure is ornamented with a collared necklace.Nepal and Tibet were closely allied in the 7th century. Tibetans prized Newar craftsmen, employing them to help create their most sacred temple, the Lhasa Jokhang. Superb c. 7th-century woodcarvings created by Newar Licchavi artists can still be seen in situ. As Nepal sits at the crossroads between Tibet and India, it is conceivable that by the 11th/12th century when this sculpture was made, the harmonious contours and ornamental style of the Licchavi period coupled with the iconic features of the Phagpa Lokeshvara were already largely incorporated amidst the local woodworking styles in the Kathmandu Valley.Provenance:Sebastian Barbagallo, London, early 1980s