110. A COPPER AND SILVER-INLAID COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF CHAKRASAMVARA IN UNION WITH VAJRAVARAHI Tibet, 16th century Himalayan Art Resources item no. 2864 Finely cast, this sculpture portrays the four-headed and twelve-armed Chakrasamvara embracing his consort Vajravarahi, standing in alidhasana on a lotus pedestal, crossing the vajra and ghanta in his primary hands held in vajrahumkara mudra, with his uppermost hands holding an outstretched skin while grasping various attributes in his secondary hands, dressed in a tiger-skin dhoti, his hair tied in a topknot on the crown adorned with a crescent moon and surmounted by a jewel ornament, while Vajravarahi wraps both legs around her partner's waist, holding a blood-filled kapala in her left hand and a kartika in her right, both figures adorned with bejewelled necklaces and beaded chains, copper and silver-inlaid eyes. 32 cm (12 5/8 in.) high Provenance: An important European Collection. Acquired from Koller, Zürich, by the father of the present owners (by repute), thence in the family by descent. This captivating figure of the great meditational deity (yidam) Chakrasamvara with his consort Vajravarahi is a representative tour de force. Chakrasamvara is one of the most popular deities in Tantric Buddhism, the Himalayan regions and Tibet after the 11th century. His purpose and function in the Buddhist Vajrayana system served as a model for meditation practice employed by Tantric practitioners. Here, Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi are caught in ecstatic embrace, a position that expresses one of the most important transcendental ideals in Tantric Buddhist art – the supreme bliss of enlightenment attained through the perfect union of Wisdom (Vajravarahi) and Compassion (Chakrasamvara). Both deities have similar crisply modeled faces with a wrinkle at the bridge of the nose to pronounce their furrowed brows. Chakrasamvara's piercing gaze is particularly inspired, highlighted with small copper and silver inlays. Like the imperially-marked Kurukulla, this Chakrasamvara wears sophisticated, separately cast garlands and beaded chains, and his tall chignon is a similar homage to the Pala style of medieval Northeastern India. Moreover, his chignon is decorated with a crescent moon, which, according to Rhie and Thurman, serves as a reminder that 'he was first worshiped by the wandering ascetics of medieval India, and that although he is a thoroughly Buddhist deity, he shares some attributes with Shiva, the Hindu god of yogis', see Rhie and Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1991, p. 278.