An inscribed gilt-copper alloy figure of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Tibet, 17th century

An inscribed gilt-copper alloy figure of the Fifth Dalai Lama
Tibet, 17th century
西藏 十七世紀 銅鎏金第五世達賴喇嘛

inscribed on the reverse of the cushion 'Homage to the omniscient Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso!'

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13841.
HAR編號13841

Height 5⅕ in., 13.2 cm

Condition Report:
Good condition, with just minor rubbing to the gilding and paint on the face, minor dent to the reverse of the head and other general surface wear.

Because this lot was imported into the United States after September 1, 2020, it is subject to an import tariff of 7.5% of the value declared upon entry into the United States. $3,375.00, plus applicable sales tax will be included on your invoice unless you instruct Sotheby's to arrange shipping of the lot to a foreign address. For more information on the import tariff, please review the Symbol Key in the back of the catalogue. If you have any questions, please contact tariffs@sothebys.com.

由於本拍品在 2020年9月1日之後進口到美國，所以買家可能需就本拍品支付進口關稅，金額為拍品進口美國當時申報價值的7.5％。除非您要求蘇富比安排運送拍品到美國境外之地址，否則發票上將包括3,375.00美元以及相關的銷售稅。如欲查詢進口關稅的更多信息，請查閱目錄背面的附錄。如有任何疑問，敬請聯繫tariffs@sothebys.com。

Catalogue Note:
This finely cast portrait depicts the fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-1682), one of the most significant figures in Tibetan political and religious history. Renowned as 'the Great Fifth' for his preeminent skills as a diplomat and politician, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso was the first Dalai Lama to assume both spiritual and secular leadership (with the support of the Mongol leader Gushri Khan) within a newly unified Central Tibet. He commissioned the construction of two of the world's most awe-inspiring edifices: the Potala palace, his headquarters and monastery; and the Lukhang, his private meditation temple built within a man-made lake, illustrated with very finely executed seventeenth century esoteric wall murals. He also is credited with engineering the demise of the aristocratic military hegemony by forcing their residency in Lhasa and bestowing key political positions upon them. Thus power was centralized in the capital under the direct auspices of Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso, establishing the dynastic government that survived in Tibet until 1959.

Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso was politically astute and an outstanding statesman, and also a prolific author of works on philosophy, meditation, history and poetry. For example, the exquisite 'Gold Manuscript' now in the Musée Guimet is a record of his tantric visions that reveal a complex understanding of Tibetan Buddhist ritual. For further discussion, see Samten Gyaltsen Karmay, Secret Visions of the Fifth Dalai Lama, London, 1988.

The current figure closely relates to a larger inscribed gilt-copper alloy figure of the fifth Dalai Lama sold in these rooms, 13th-14th September 2016, lot 161 for an unprecedented price. See also characteristics of the current work in two other seventeenth century sculptures, an ungilt bronze sculpture in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston (acc. no. 50.3606); and also a polychromed wood sculpture previously exhibited at the Ethnographic Museum of the University of Zürich (2005) and sold in these rooms, 19th March 2008, lot 312.

Provenance:
French Private Collection, prior to 1940, and thence by descent.