Lot 3273. A silver inlaid copper alloy figure of Sanggye Pel Tsang, Central Tibet, 15th century. Estimate USD 100,000 ~ 150,000. Sold for US$ 319,500 (€295,778). Photo: Bonhams.

Inscription translated, 'Homage to the omniscient Sang gye Pel, lord of the entire Doctrine. Good Fortune!'. 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm) high
Himalayan Art Resources item no.2328

Note: The bronze is one of the finest known portraits in the Tsang style of Central Tibet, which favors non-gilt, brassy sculptures with incised patterning. A masterwork, every inch of his patchwork robe is beautifully chased with floral sprays. A finer detail distinguishing the piece's quality is the minute notched fringes, conveying a thickness to the cloth. This combines with painstaking stippling to clarify the patterns and distinguish sections of the garment. The overall effect makes the complex ensemble effortlessly readable at a glance. Contrast, for instance, with a closely related bronze of approaching quality sold at Sotheby's, New York, 24 March 2011, lot 67. Furthermore, there is a sense that the artist has reveled in the interplay of folds and exposed undersides as the robe's tension slackens and drapes around the body.

The student of the second abbot of Ngor Monastery, Sanggye Pel (1412-85) went on to found Dreyel Kyetsel Monastery, and teach some of Ngor's most famous masters, including its sixth and eighth abbots, Gorampa Sonam Sengge (1429-89) and Muchen Sanggye Rinchen (1450-1524).

Published: Portraits of the Masters, pp.260-3, no.72.
Matthew Akester, Jamyang Khyentsé Wangpo's Guide to Central Tibet, Chicago, 2016, p. 527 

Published & Exhibited: Monasterios y Lamas del Tibet, p.197, no.155.

Bonhams. PORTRAITS OF THE MASTERS, 108 Bronze Sculptures of the Tibetan Buddhist Lineages, 14 Mar 2017, New York