Country Group:

Item id: 10668

A Glass Figure of Buddha Shakyamuni with an Inlaid Gilt-Copper Mandorla, Nepal, 19th Century or Earlier (Base & Mandorla 17th Century)



A finely assembled devotional shrine featuring a rare glass figure of Buddha Shakyamuni set within an ornate 17th-century gilt-copper mandorla. The Buddha, likely 19th century or earlier, stands gracefully in slight tribhanga upon a beaded pedestal, framed by a lotus-petaled mandorla and foliate halo. His right hand rises in abhaya mudra, while his left gently holds the hem of his long sanghati. Beneath him rests a waisted rectangular gilt-copper base supported by a pair of snow lions, with a draped cloth centering the front and two fired-clay lotus medallions above.



The arched mandorla is meticulously chased with scrolling foliage and inlaid with five miniature stupas—four carved from rock crystal and one of fired clay—each crowned with a tiered spire. The piece exhibits a naturally developed patina with areas of verdigris, minor wear, small losses, and light rubbing to the gilding, all consistent with age.

Provenance: Galerie Hardt (est. 1976), Germany; acquired by founder Peter Kienzle-Hardt during his extensive decades-long travels in Asia. The piece bears an old Hardt gallery label (partially surviving in photographs), formerly inscribed “Buddha, Nepal, 17 Jh, Kupfer vergoldet,” with an original price of EUR 4,750.

A compelling and historically rich example of Nepalese Buddhist metalwork and devotional assemblage.
Dimensions: 8.5"" H × 4.25"" W × 2.5"" D | Weight: 375 g.