COIFFE DE VAJRASATTVA EN CUIVRE ET ARGENT REPOUSSÉ PARTIELLEMENT DORÉ TIBET ORIENTAL, VERS XVIIIE SIÈCLECOIFFE DE VAJRASATTVA EN CUIVRE ET ARGENT REPOUSSÉ PARTIELLEMENT DORÉTIBET ORIENTAL, VERS XVIIIE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205092 45 cm (17 3/4 in.) highA COPPER AND PARCEL-GILT SILVER REPOUSSÉ VAJRASATTVA HEADDRESS EASTERN TIBET, CIRCA 18TH CENTURY 藏東 約十八世紀 銅及局部銀鎏金錘揲金剛薩埵法冠This ritual crown would have been worn by a Newari Buddhist priest, called a vajracharya ('master of the vajra'), during ritual practice or while officiating ceremonies. The crown's Buddhas of the Five Directions and its axis mundi vajra finial, Pal notes, "...add a cosmic dimension to the crown; by wearing it the priest himself becomes homologized with the cosmic principle or divine essence." (Art of the Himalayas, New York, 1991, p. 49). Compare with a closely related crown in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Guy, Indian Temple Sculpture, London, 2018, p. 59. pl. 59), and another, dated 1864, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (36.25.2979). As noted by Huntington (Circle of Bliss, p. 227) this, 'very rare and remarkable Tibetan version of the Newar-style headdress is the powerfully produced and deeply articulated version of the classic type (Bonhams, 16 March 2015, lot 4). It displays the usual five Jina Buddhas and Vajrasattva, but their female aspects are present only by implication. In an interesting variation, the "family" or "clan" (kula) symbols of the four Jinas of the four cardinal quadrants of the mandala are depicted in their respective directions: a vajra representing the Vajra family in the east, the jewel of the Ratna family in the south, the lotus of the Dharma (or Padma) family in the west, and the double-vajra (visvavajra) of the Karma clan to the north.' He further notes that, 'the workmanship of this exquisite headdress strongly suggests the Kham or Amdo area of Eastern Tibet, thus one can conclude that one of the senior teachers in that area also chose the Newar type as a demonstration of his attainment.'Published: Ramon Prats, et.al., Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, Fundación "La Caixa", 2000, 118, no. 58.John Huntington and Dina Bangdel, Circle of Bliss, Los Angeles, 2003, p. 228, no. 61.Exhibited: Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid, November 2000-January 2001. Circle of Bliss, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5 October - 31 October, 2003.Provenance:Peter Vasquez, London, 1980s