TWO TIBETAN DENSATIL-STYLE GILT BRONZE SUPPORTS

15TH CENTURY

Each cast with two four-armed Bodhisattvas standing on a lotus throne above a large kalasa vase, with jewelled adornments and an elaborate headdress set with turquoise and glass beads, holding various implements and supporting a double lotus throne under a square capital, 26.4cm. (2)

Cf. P F Mele, Tibet, pp.61-62, where photographs of comparable supports in situ are illustrated. These pillar supports are in a style typical of the complex at Densatil. The monastery, destroyed during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1978) was regarded as one of the greatest treasures of central Tibet.