A BRONZE FIGURE OF A MAHASIDDHA Tibet, 17^th - 18^th century. Seated in a relaxed posture on a lotus base with beaded edges, the left hand before his chest holding a lotus blossom in his palm, the right hand resting on his knee. Richly adorned in beaded and floral jewelry with inlays of turquoise, coral, and mother-of-pearl. The base sealed and incised with a double vajra.

Provenance: Trésors d'Asie, Paris, France, ca. 1995. A Hungarian private collection, acquired from the above. A copy of a stamped and handwritten note from Trésors d'Asie, dated 22 July 2015, describing the figure as an Arhat, dated 19^th century, and stating that the figure was bought in Tibet 20 years prior, accompanies this lot.
Condition: Very good condition with some wear to gilt, light surface scratches, casting flaws, and few minuscule nicks, dents and losses.

Weight: 1,181 g
Dimensions: Height 15.7 cm

The hair falling elegantly in two strands down the shoulder, tied into a high chignon, and secured by a tiara centered by a single skull head, the face with almond-shaped eyes below thick furrowed brows and full lips forming a subtle smile.

Mahasiddha is a term for someone who embodies and cultivates the 'siddhi of perfection'. A siddha is an individual who, through the practice of sadhana, attains the realization of siddhis, psychic and spiritual abilities and powers. There are eighty-four Mahasiddhas of Tantric Buddhism who can be male and female, kings and beggars, young and old, monks and laymen who through experiencing different kinds of life crises, attain the realization of the Buddha's teachings leading to the status of a guru or a tantric master eventually. Tibetan Buddhist masters of various lineages are often referred to as Mahasiddhas (grub thob chen po or tul shug). There is a long tradition of hagiographies of these Tibetan adepts, called namtar. Important Tibetan mahasiddhas include Padmasambhava, Milarepa, and Tsongkhapa.

As discussed by Huntington, "Vajrayana Buddhism shares many elements of the Mahayana path, but introduces the belief that enlightenment can be obtained in a single lifetime of intense arduous practice. Transformational meditations [...] force the psyche of the practitioner into new avenues of awareness. The ideal practitioner is still the Bodhisattva but in a new and radically different guise [...] The Mahasiddha, or "Great Adept," [who] comes to be known as a Vidyadhara, or "Bearer of Esoteric Knowledge". (Huntington & Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss, Ohio, 2003, page 21)

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 October 2018, lot 140
Estimate: HKD 350,000 or approx. EUR 51,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A gilt copper alloy figure of a Mahasiddha (possibly Naropa), Tibet, circa 17^th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related hair, skull tiara, and beaded jewelry. Note the different base and slightly smaller size (12 cm).


大成就者坐蓮銅像
西藏，十七至十八世紀。清代大成就者造像，坐姿自在，坐在連珠蓮座上，昂首挺胸，神態威嚴。左手置於胸前，手中有一朵蓮花，右手置於膝上。佩戴嵌寳項鏈，上可見綠松石、珊瑚和貝母。底座雙金剛杵印密封。

來源：匈牙利私人收藏，約在1995年在法國巴黎Trésors d'Asie藝廊購得。隨附一份寫於2015年7月22日並蓋章的藝廊説明副本，把銅像描述為十九世紀的羅漢，並註明，二十多年前在西藏購得此像。
品相：品相極好，鎏金有一些磨損、輕微的劃痕、鑄造缺陷，並且有微小的刻痕、凹痕和損失。

重量：1,181 克
尺寸：高15.7 厘米

頭上梳的球狀髮髻渾圓寬大，雙眼直視前方，粗眉生動靠攏，形像不怒而威。袒胸露腹，胸前佩飾嵌寶。整尊造像雕刻技藝細膩，造型逼真傳神，表現出一種慈祥中帶有大智慧、果敢而威猛的大成就者氣質，為此類造像的精品之作。

大成就者在佛教密宗裏，大成就者為修行身、語、意三密，得到成就，而擁有過人智慧與神通力量者。密宗八十四大成就者，男女不限，國王、乞丐、老少、僧俗，通過經歷各種人生危機，證悟佛法，成為上師，或最終成為密宗大師。不同傳承的藏傳佛教大師通常被稱為大成就者（grub thob chen po 或 tul shug）。這些西藏佛教大師的傳記有著悠久的傳統，被稱為namtar。重要的西藏大成就者包括蓮花生大士、密勒日巴和宗喀巴。

正如Huntington所說的，“密宗分享了大乘教的許多元素，但引入了一種信念，即通過一生的艱苦修行可以獲得成就。轉化冥想 [...] 使修行者的心靈進入新的理想途徑。理想的修行者仍然是菩薩，但有著全新的、完全不同的形象 [...] 大成就者，或“偉大的行家”，[他] 被稱為 神族，或“秘密知識的承載者” （Huntington & Bangdel，The Circle of Bliss，俄亥俄州，2003年，頁21）。

拍賣結果比較：
形制：相近
拍賣：香港邦瀚斯，2018年10月2日，lot 140
估價：HKD 350,000（相當於今日EUR 51,500）
描述：西藏約十七世紀銅鎏金大成就者像（或為那洛巴）
專家評論：比較非常相近的頭髮、骷顱冠，以及佩戴項鏈。請注意不同的底座和尺寸稍小 (12 厘米)。