Country Group:

Item id: 9839

Remarkable antique Buddhist tantric bronze box from Tibet or Laos, featuring an exceptionally rare and complex iconography. The cover shows a relaxed seated female figure flanked by a skull and a vase. Inside the rectangular base is a tantric couple in union—likely Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi—surrounded by ritual objects including a kapala, kartika, and ghanta. The lid does not sit perfectly square on the base, consistent with age and handmade construction. A paper label remains inside the cover, along with a typed French note dated September 9, 1932, stating that the piece was reserved for Mr. Ngo Dinh-Bach, a public works contractor in Haiphong, and referencing His Majesty Sisavang Vong, King of Luang Prabang.



The previous owner purchased this box in Holland from someone who had acquired it in France. An almost identical gilt example—formerly in the Loew Collection—was the cover lot of Christie’s Amsterdam, 14 June 1995, lot 127, and is documented as originally sold at Hôtel Drouot, Paris, in 1958. Another closely related example was reportedly auctioned by Nagel in 2016; that piece had previously passed through my hands.



These repeated French connections, together with the French-language dedication, suggest the intriguing possibility of Indochinese origin during the French colonial period, when high-level bronze workshops operated in Saigon (Biên Hòa) and Hanoi, producing both traditional Buddhist imagery and commissioned works. The strong stylistic inconsistencies with Tibetan casting further support this hypothesis.



A rare, valuable, and highly unusual tantric bronze—made all the more significant by its exceptional provenance and documentation, including association with the King of Luang Prabang.
Dimensions: 6.25" H x 5.5" W.
Weight: 4.48 lbs (2.030 kg).