CENTRAL TIBET, STYLE OF SONAM GYALTSEN ATELIER, 15TH-16TH CENTURY

This rare figure of the four-armed manifestation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, known as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, is distinguished by the layers of both silver and gilding applied over the bronze beneath. The decision to embellish the bronze doubly, particularly as the silver would have originally not been visible, indicates the meritorious intentions of the commissioner of the work, as the material cost was directly correlated to the spiritual worth accrued by its donor. The resulting patina of the multiple surfaces, particularly as it has aged, creates a shimmering, luminous effect that is unlike most known Tibetan metal images.
Stylistically, the present work aligns closely with the corpus of images associated with the atelier of the fifteenth-century artisan and bronze caster, Sonam Gyaltsen, who was active in Shigatse in South-Central Tibet circa 1430. The identity of Sonam Gyaltsen was only revealed to modern scholars after the 2018 deciphering by Jeff Watt of an inscription on a gilt-bronze image of an eleven-headed Avalokiteshvara, illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1983, p. 453, fig. 124D. Several distinct stylistic traits have since been affiliated with characteristics found in a large body of works attributed to the style of the Sonam Gyaltsen atelier, including examples in museums, private collections, and works offered for sale at auction. The distinguishable features found in the present work include the distinct shape of the lotus petals of the base, the mantle-like sash draped over the shoulders, and the almost square-shaped face with heavy-lidded eyes and a near horizontal brow that joins just below a spiral urna. Some works from this ever-expanding milieu appear clearly to be by the hand of the master, while others are clearly derivative, yet nearly as exquisite. Other characteristics such as a thick and luminous gilding and lavish use of turquoise inlays, are not visible in the present work, although the unusual choice of materials may have precipitated slight derivations from the discrete style. Though there are notable differences between the present sculpture and the Avalokiteshvara attributed by inscription to the hand of Sonam Gyaltsen, many elements of his style are apparent here.