A GILT BRONZE FIGURE OF INDRA, 17TH CENTURY Nepal. Seated in rajalilasana atop a large, separately cast, double-lotus base. His left hand lowered toward his thigh and his right hand holding a lotus stem coming to full bloom at the shoulder. Wearing a richly incised dhoti and adorned with beaded and floral jewelry.

Provenance: From a noted French private collection.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, particularly to gilt, casting flaws, remnants of pigment, minuscule dents, light scratches. Note that the separately cast elements (figure, mandorla, and base) have been bolted together at some point in time and can only be separated when the bolts are removed. The enshrinement is lost, with drilled holes left unused at either side and back of the base.

Weight: 2,121 g
Dimensions: Height 23.8 cm

The serene face with heavy-lidded eyes below the characteristic horizontal urna and full lips forming a subtle smile. The hair is beautifully arranged in a high chignon behind the open worked floral mitre crown, a separately cast mandorla behind him.

Indra is a Vedic god known as the king of all other gods, as well as the deity of war, and of the sky, adopted into the Newar Hindu pantheon and exalted as the giver of rain. As such, images like this are rarely found in India, but common in Nepal. His horizontal third eye distinguishes him from other Hindu deities, as does his distinctive single-crested crown.

Auction result comparison: Compare with a related but smaller bronze of Indra and Indrani, 17^th century, at Bonhams Hong Kong, in Images of Devotion, 2 October 2018, lot 64, sold for HKD 350,000. Compare with a related but much smaller bronze of Indra, 15^th century, at Sotheby’s New York, in Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian works of art, 22 September 2020, lot 321, sold for USD 52,920. 十七世紀鎏金銅因陀羅
尼泊爾。因陀羅以轉輪王坐姿，神態閒適，坐於雙層蓮座上，分開而鑄, 不相連。左手撐在身後，右手持蓮莖，蓮花盛開于肩頭。穿著精美的飾有串珠和花卉紋的多提褲。

來源：法國知名私人收藏。
品相：狀況良好，磨損，尤其是鎏金，鑄造瑕疵、顏料殘留、微小凹痕、輕微劃痕。 請注意，單獨鑄造的人物、光背和底座已在某個時間用螺栓連接在一起，只有拆除螺栓時才能分離。供奉已丟失，底座兩側和背面的鑽孔未使用。

重量：2,121 克
尺寸：高 23.8 厘米

安詳的臉龐，雙眼低垂，豐滿的嘴唇有著厚重的雙眼皮，微妙的微笑。 頭髮在雕刻精美的王冠梳成高髻。身後是單獨鑄造的光背。

因陀羅被稱爲天界诸神最有能力的主宰，被尊為賜雨者。他在尼泊爾很常見，其第三隻眼將他與其他印度神祇區分開來，他獨特的單冠也是如此。

拍賣結果比較：比較一件稍小的因陀羅及其妻子舍脂的銅像，十七世紀，見香港邦翰思Images of Devotion 2018年10月2日 lot 64, 售價HKD 350,000；一件稍小的因陀羅銅像，十五世紀，見紐約蘇富比Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian works of art 2020年9月2日 lot 321, 售價USD 52,920。