A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF ARHAT AJITA TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF ARHAT AJITA TIBET, 18TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no. 2243 4 3/8 in. (11.3 cm) high Footnotes: 西藏 十八世紀 銅鎏金阿氏多像 This portrait depicts arhat Ajita as a meditating hermit clad in thick robes and a heavy hood, a standard iconographic portrayal of the master. He is rooted on a two-tiered cushion, which would have been placed in a cave on Mt Rsi ('Mountain of Sages'), where the arhat resides after the Mahaparinirvana of the Buddha. The name Ajita means 'The Unsubdued', probably relating to the story of his successful fetching of a princess with the most excellent of elephants, in order to have King Prasenajit agree to their marriage. This talented young man eventually abandoned his wealth and power, and became one of the sixteen disciples of Buddha. Published Roman N. Prats (ed.), Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, 2000, p. 221, no. 196. Donald Dinwiddie (ed.), Portraits of the Masters: Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages, 2003, pp. 350-1, no. 105. Exhibited Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, Fundación 'la Caixa', Madrid, 23 November 2000 – 21 January 2001. Provenance Portraits of the Masters Collection, London Bonhams, New York, 14 March 2017, lot 3206 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing