Philip left the RAF after the Second World War, building a career in electronics and, in 1946, married Rosalind, known as ‘Fay’. Though he would make his name in Tribal art, his first love was the art of the Far East. In the early 1960s, encouraged by Jimmy McMullan of the Obelisk Gallery, the couple opened a small gallery off Marylebone High Street selling Eastern art, above all from Tibet, later moving to Davies Street, off Berkeley Square. While Philip combined work abroad with buying trips, Fay ran the shop.

His travels soon led him to Nigeria and New Guinea, and he became a major dealer in Tribal art until a serious injury on a flight home in 1978 forced the gallery to close. Many of the bronzes now offered were probably acquired in these early years, from the mid-1960s, when Tibet was the couple’s main interest.

A meeting of traditions

For centuries, the Himalayas and the regions surrounding them have been places of extraordinary artistic and cultural exchange. Positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Tibetan plateau, Nepal became a meeting point for Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and the Kathmandu Valley developed into one of the great centres of sacred metalwork.

Many of these traditions can be traced to India. Under the Pala dynasty, which ruled much of north-eastern India between the 8th and 12th centuries, Buddhism flourished at great monastic centres such as Nalanda and Vikramashila. Portable bronzes travelled with monks and pilgrims across the Himalayas, and Pala sculpture, with its refined modelling and elaborate ornament, became a defining influence on Himalayan art.

The Newar craftsmen of the Kathmandu Valley absorbed and transformed these traditions. Working principally in copper alloys, often richly gilded, they created images of elegant proportions and intricate jewellery and worked for patrons in Tibet as well as at home. When the great monasteries of north-eastern India were sacked at the close of the 12th century, monks fled north with manuscripts and images, and Pala and Newar models were absorbed into a new Tibetan devotional art.

Taken together, the Goldman bronzes trace these journeys in miniature: from a Pala Vajrapani cast in Bengal to Nepalese, Tibetan and Indian figures made for worship centuries later. Every piece tells us a story of faith, craftsmanship and travel, but a few truly stand out. Here, we take a closer look at them.

A Pala bronze figure of Vajrapani, Bengal, 11th or 12th century

Vajrapani or ‘holder of the thunderbolt’ is the protector of Buddha and an embodiment of the power of all the enlightened beings. Here he stands in a graceful tribhanga, on a lotus base. He is holding a vajra, or ritual thunderbolt in his right hand and a ghanta or bell in his left hand, together celebrating spiritual power and wisdom. He has a lotus flower at each shoulder and wears a tall headdress, and his eyes and urna are inlaid with silver.

A gilt bronze standing figure of Vishnu, Nepal, 15th or 16th century

Vishnu, the preserver of the universe in Hinduism, stands framed by a flaming nimbus holding his four attributes. It is a fine example of Newar casting and gilding and is offered alongside a bronze figure of Padrapana, pairing Hindu and Buddhistic traditions in single lot.

A gilt bronze shrine depicting Manjusri and his Consort, Nepal, circa 1800

Manjusri, the bodhisattva of wisdom, appears here a six-armed, three-headed form, seated on a lotus throne with his consort on his left knee. His six hands hold a range of sacred attributes, among them a sword, a lotus, a vajra and a bell. The whole is framed by an arched aureole with protective Dharmapala figures amid scrolling foilage.

A gilt-bronze figure of Vajrasattva, Nepal, circa 18th century

Vajrasattva, the ‘diamond being’, embodies purity and is invoked in Buddhist practice for purification. He sits on an openwork lotus throne, surrounded by small figures representing the princely donor and his family.

A large copper alloy figure of Kshitigarbha, 19th century

Kṣitigarbha, ‘womb of the earth’, is the bodhisattva who vowed to help beings in the hell realms. This striking figure stands over half a metre tall in an exaggerated tribhanga, holding a piece of fruit in his lowered left hand. Once thought to depict Maitreya, it belongs to a group of near-identical figures. Similar examples are found in the Museum voor Volkenkunde in Rotterdam, and the National Museum of Vietnamese History in Hanoi.

A copper-gilt repousse figure of Vajradhara, Tibet, 15th or 16th century

Vajradhara is seen in Tibetan Buddhism as the primordial Buddha and the supreme essence of enlightenment. He sits on an ungilded double lotus throne with his hands crossed at his chest, holding a vajra and a bell. The figure wears large spiralling earrings and an elaborate tiara, with his hair topped with a further vajra.

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Auction Details

Wednesday 11 & Thursday 12 November, 10.30am GMT
Donnington Priory, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 2JE

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Viewing at Dreweatts London (highlights): 16-17 Pall Mall, SW1Y 5LU
Sunday 1 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 2 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 3 November: 10am-4pm

Viewing at Dreweatts Newbury (full sale): Donnington Priory, RG14 2JE
Saturday 7 November: 10am-3pm
Sunday 8 November: 10am-3pm
Monday 9 November: 10am-4pm
Tuesday 10 November: 10am-4pm
Wednesday 11 November: 9am-4pm
Thursday 12 November: 9am-11am

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