A large copper and silver-inlaid copper alloy figure of the First Karmapa Lama, Tibet, 14th / 15th century

Acquired in New York, 2010.

This finely cast portrait depicts the first Karmapa, Dusum Khyenpa, who was known for his lantern jaw, large ears and fleshy earlobes, amongst other distinguishing physical characteristics. Gyalwa Karmapas, recognisable by the characteristic double-pointed crown adorned with a sun and moon; the depiction with both hands resting on the knees; and the robe depicted at the reverse of the sculpture with tight vertical folds, all common stylistic conventions of the Karma Kagyu lineages. This particular hand gesture is known as the 'mind refreshing' gesture (Tibetan: sems nyid ngal gso); see Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, London, 1996, p. 441.

A closely related copper alloy portrait of the First Karmapa Lama, with similar iconography and treatment of the robes is in the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya Museum, Mumbai, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 203939. See also a silver alloy figure of the First Karmapa Lama with similar lantern jaw in the Potala Palace, illustrated by Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. 2, Hong Kong, 2001, pl. 327B.