A PAIR OF COPPER REPOUSSÉ FIGURES OF DEER, TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURYThe deer, one male and female, with their attentive demeanor, symbolize the audience of Shakyamuni Buddha’s first teaching at the deer park of Sarnath after attaining enlightenment. He preached the eight-fold path towards liberation from the suffering of unenlightened life. The deer would have flanked an eight-spoked wheel of dharma, symbolizing the Buddhist teaching or ‘turning of the wheel’, and are generally placed above the front gates of Buddhist monasteries, allowing for the path toward liberation and happiness to progress.Each modeled in a recumbent pose atop an incised lotus base, the legs tucked underneath the body, the face with an alert expression marked by slightly raised heads and pricked ears, one with a short single horn with rounded tip. The faces well detailed and picked out in red, black, pink, and green pigments. (2)Provenance: Collection de Monsieur E., a private collection of Tibetan bronzes in France, and thence by descent.Condition: Very good condition with minor old wear, few nicks, small dents, light scratches, few minuscule cracks, and remnants of lacquer. Ancient pigments. Fine, naturally grown patina overall.Weight: 641.8 g and 637.1 gDimensions: Height 19.2 cm and 19.7 cmAuction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Christie’s New York, 24 September 2020, lot 735Price: USD 21,250 or approx.EUR 22,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A pair of bronze deer, China or Tibet, 19th centuryExpert remark: Note the significantly larger size (36.2 cm)十八至十九世紀一對西藏錘鍱銅鹿臥鹿臥於蓮花座上，雙腿收於身下，面部神情警惕，頭微揚，雙耳豎立，尖端圓潤。細節豐富，並以紅色、黑色、和綠色顏料勾勒。(2)鹿一公一母，神情專注，象徵著釋迦牟尼佛得道後在鹿野苑第一次開示的聽眾。他宣揚八正道，以從未開悟的生活痛苦中解脫出來。鹿的兩側是八輻法輪，象徵著佛教教義或“轉法輪”，通常被放置在佛教寺院的正門上方，讓通往解脫和幸福的道路得以推進。