Single-Owner Collections

A Chinese bronze figure of Guanyin, Song dynasty, modelled seated in dhyanasana with hands held in abhaya mudra, wearing a headdress, beaded necklace and long robe, height 9.5cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan bronze figure of Buddha, 19th century, modelled seated in dhyanasana on a lotus throne, his hair tightly curled and rising to a domed usnisa, height 13.2cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan plated and copper gau (amulet box or portable shrine), 19th century, of oval form with embossed foliate decoration and central coral boss, length 10.3cm (faults), together with a plated hinged bangle with lobed decoration, marked with arrow and circular motif to interior, diameter 8.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A group of three Tibetan phurbas, 16th/17th century, comprising a bronze example with cast three heads of Vajrakila pommel and vajra crown finial, the lotus and eternal knot handle with mount of Makara terminal issuing a three-sided tapering blade, length 20.2cm, together with a smaller similar iron example with skull pommel, length 12.7cm, and a bronze example with skull pommel, length 17cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan lapis lazuli carving of Jambhala or Kubera, probably 12th century, modelled seated wearing a headdress and robes, holding a mongoose in his left hand and fruit in his right, on a lotus throne, height 17.2cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan cast bronze healing horse figure, 17th/18th century, modelled standing four-square wearing saddle cloth, saddle and tack hung with two pendants from the neck, height 10.2cm, length 12.5cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: healing horses were more prevalent in China, where they were used to indicate the source of pain in both human and animal patients.

A Tibetan carnelian bead necklace, comprising seventy-two fluted circular beads with three larger spacer beads and a marker bead, total length 102cm, bead diameters 1.2cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan stained bone apron ornament, probably 20th century, carved and pierced with a standing figure of Garuda, length 14.3cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Sino-Tibetan carved and stained bone plaque of curved rectangular form, carved in low relief with Buddha seated on a lotus throne, length 8.5cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Chinese archaic bronze circular mirror, probably Tang dynasty, one side cast with a lion, bird and grape design, diameter 11.9cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan bronze figure of Mahakala, 16th century, finely modelled standing with three faces, six arms and eight legs, wearing skull crowns and garlands of severed heads, his hands holding attributes including vajra or held in various mudra, height 17.5cm, mounted on a carved hardwood double lotus stand. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: Mahakala is one of the most popular guardian or protector deities in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon and is generally depicted as a wrathful deity.

A Tibetan turquoise and plated akor ear ornament, 19th century or earlier, set with flat cut turquoise stones of varying shapes and sizes, the silvered mounts with gilt detail and beaded and twist borders, length 12.1cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A rare North-east Indian bronze/copper alloy figure group of the four goddesses Brahmani, Indrani, Maheshvari and Vaishnavi, Pala period, circa 11th century, modelled in the round with the four goddesses seated in dhyanasana with central tower, on a lotus moulded circular base, height 11cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection; Alex Biancardi, London 1970s; and Bonhams, Hong Kong, 2nd October 2018, Lot 155. Note: these four goddesses are from a group of seven mother goddesses known as the Matrikas, who are worshipped in Hinduism's tantric Shaktism, which views the mother goddess as the source of divine power.

A Tibetan gilt bronze figure of Buddha, 12th century, modelled seated in dhyanasana with hands held in bhumisparsa mudra, height 8.4cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Ladakh bronze figure of a bodhisattva, probably Manjushri, 11th/12th century, modelled standing wearing a dhoti and beaded jewellery, holding a conch shell in his right hand, his left hand holding a stem of lotus which supports a manuscript, height 9.4cm, mounted on a wood stand. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: Ladakh is one of the most sparsely populated regions in India. Its culture and history are closely related to those of Tibet. For a similar figure, see Ashmolean Museum Yousef Jameel Online Centre, Accession No. EA2000.107.

A Nagaland Konyak tribe brass shaman's idol figure of a warrior, 12th-14th century. modelled standing unclothed but for a bead necklace with skull mask pendant, height 29cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: the Konyaks are a major Naga ethnic group native to the North-east Indian state of Nagaland.

A Tibetan gilt metal stupa, probably late 19th century, the removable bell shaped surmount with stepped spire above a band of cast bodhisattvas, the square base with bird supports framing a ring of four snakes, height 21.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan carved rock crystal tantric demon mask, probably 16th/17th century, carved and pierced with grotesque expression and elongated earlobes, length 12.8cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan iron danda or khatvanga, 18th century, with vajra crown terminals to each end, the handle formed as three skulls above a coiled serpent shaft, length 30.8cm, hung with a Tibetan red and gilt silk embroidered pendant with black tassels, on a metal display stand. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: a danda or khatvanga is a tantric staff or wand, typically used during empowerment rituals by eminent Buddhist practitioners.