A Copper Alloy Figure Depicting Atisha Dipamkara

Private European collection, early 1980s

Homage to the Holy: Portraits of Tibet's Spiritual Leaders, Rossi & Rossi, London, November 6—20, 2003

Rossi & Rossi exhibition catalogue, Homage to the Holy: Portraits of Tibet's Spiritual Leaders, London, 2003, cat. no. 6

Good overall condition. Minor wear and accretion consistent with age. Finial element at proper left slightly bent, as viewed. Original backplate intact.
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Seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus throne, with his hands in the gesture of dharmachakramudra or the gesture of explication, Atisha Dipamkara is recognizable by his personal attributes and traditional accoutrements which point to his abbatial Bengali origin. Shown here in the distinctive Indian-style pandit’s cap with hanging lappets, Atisha is flanked on his left by two of the thirteen possessions of an ordained monk: a khakkhara or mendicant’s staff with stupa finial, and a chilug or water vessel, both resting atop floral elements. On his right, also atop floral elements, rest a stupa or reliquary, and a pustakam, an oblong-shaped religious manuscript wrapped in silk.

Renowned for his scholarship and groundbreaking contribution to Buddhist philosophical literature, Atisha's most celebrated text, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment, sets forth the entire Buddhist path within the framework of three levels of motivation for spiritual practice. Atisha's seminal text, the source of the lamrim tradition, or graduated stages of the path to enlightenment, set the standard of Buddhist practice and scholarship in Tibet and laid the ground for future visionary patriachs such as Tsongkhapa (see lot no. 20), who composed mutiple commentaries on this text and was himself considered an emanation of Atisha.  

Compare the elegant wave form pattern of the base with the throne elements in lot no. 13, a thangka also depicting Atisha Dipamkara. The bases in both of these works from the 17th century present lotus thrones atop elaborate bases, each draped in decorative silks and embellished with a pair of adorsed vyala or leogryphs. Both bases are adorned with triple gem cornices, the sculptural base incised with further wave form and lotus petal patterning which mirror the rich carving and ornamentation of the base depicted in the thankga.