77. PADMASAMBHAVA STATUETTE IN GILDED COPPER ALLOY Tibet, 15th century A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF PADMASAMBHAVA Tibet, 15th century Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1991 13.4 cm (5 1/4 in) high 西藏 十五世紀 銅鎏金蓮花生大士像 Provenance: Acquired from Schoettle Asiatica, Stuttgart, 4 November 1986. Collection of Christian von Reitzenstein. 來源 於1986年11月4日得自Schoettle Asiatica，斯圖加特 Christian von Reitzenstein珍藏 Often referred to as the 'Second Buddha', Padmasambhava is widely revered across all Tibetan Buddhist orders, given the endearing appellation, Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Teacher'). He is depicted with a semi-wrathful appearance while wearing his distinctive cap. He holds a vajra in his right hand and a skull cup in the left. A heavy robe wraps around him and falls across his shoulders body and legs in soft folds. This particular work shares its resemblance with a 15th century image illustrated in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, 1981, p. 449, no. 122C. Like all Tibetan portraits, his likeness was meant to promote his divine power, especially as the forefather of the Nyingma lineage, the oldest of Buddhist schools in Tibet.