Tibetan Gilded Bronze Figure of the Tantric Buddha Vajrasattva

A superbly detailed Tibetan gilded bronze figure of the tantric Buddha Vajrasattva, also known as Diamond Thunderbolt. Made of cast, gilded bronze, Vajrasattva sits in vajrasana, or full lotus position, depicted with downcast eyes and a gently smiling mouth. He would have originally held a Vajra sceptre in one hand, raised at heart level, unfortunately now missing. His other hand, resting on his foot, holds a Tribu, a Tibetan bell. He is richly ornamented in jewellery, including a five-pointed crown, earrings, necklaces and armlets, all studded with semi-precious green and purple-red stone beads. His long hair is depicted falling in elegant tresses over his shoulders and arms, the rest tied up in a high bun topped by a vajra, all very finely detailed with incisions. Vajrasattva is clothed in a dhoti covering his lower half, which beautifully falls in drapes over the Buddha’s legs, and features a very fine scrolling vegetal design along its rim. The tantric Buddha sits on a hollow lotus throne, which would have been filled with Buddist relics, the base sealed with a dented copper plate inscribed with a Visvajra, or Double Vajra. Statuettes, such as this beautiful example, were placed in temples and shrines, as a way to accrue the merit needed for good karma in Buddhist religion.