Single-Owner Collections

A Chinese bronze scroll weight, Ming dynasty, finely modelled as a recumbent horse with detailed mane and tail, height 5.4cm, length 6.3cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Chinese bronze figure of a Bactrian camel, possibly Wei dynasty, modelled in a recumbent pose with head turned slightly to the left, height 5.4cm, length 7.9cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan brown patinated bronze figure of Padmasambhava, 16th century, modelled seated on a lotus throne, wearing a long robe, holding a vajra in his right hand and a bowl in his left, his face with gilt and blue detail, height 18cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection and Bonhams Hong Kong, 2nd October 2018, Lot 141. Note: Padmasambhava is revered as the leading propagator of tantric Buddhism in Tibet during the 8th century. He is believed to have travelled from India to Tibet at the invitation of King Trisong Detsen, and there founded the Nyingma Order of Tibetan Buddhism.

A Tibetan human bone apron ornament, 17th/18th century, carved in relief with Dakini, the female deity dancing upon a prostrate figure, within carved scroll borders, length 10.9cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Chinese gold and silver inlaid bronze belthook, Han dynasty or later, with verdigris patination, cast in the form of a yogic figure, length 12.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A rare Chinese bronze ceremonial hand, possibly Shang/Zhou dynasty or later, with verdigris patination, the hand shaped terminal cast and pierced with archaistic scrolls and two taotie masks, the cylindrical hand with incised crosshatched bands and cast ram's mask finial, length 35.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Sino-Tibetan gilt bronze figure of a bodhisattva, possibly Amitabha, 18th century, finely modelled seated on the back of a goose or duck, the oval base cast with rocky surround, height 13.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: Amitabha is the principal Buddha of Pure Land Buddhism. In Vajrayana Buddhism Amitabha is known for his longevity, discernment and pure perception.

A Tibetan bronze bead mala necklace, comprising one hundred and eight squat circular beads and two marker beads, total length 70cm, bead diameters 0.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan bronze pen case and inkwell, 17th/18th century, the tubular pen case and cover of oval section, cast and pierced with dragons and vapours, length 21.7cm, the inkwell of ritual vase form, cast in relief with figures, height 6cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Nepalese gilt bronze figure of Vasudhara, 12th-14th century, finely modelled seated in lalitasana wearing a five-leaved diadem, ornate beaded jewellery and a boldly patterned dhoti, her six arms naturalistically radiating from her shoulders, holding various attributes, including treasure vase, grain, jewels and sutra, height 23.2cm, mounted on an ebonized plinth. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection, David Weldon, London 1970-72, and Bonhams Hong Kong, 2nd October 2018, Lot 110. Note: Vasudhara's name means 'Bearer of Treasure'; she is the Buddhist goddess of wealth, prosperity and abundance. She is the consort of the wealth deity Jambhala and is particularly revered among the Newars of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. In Buddhist art, Vasudhara has a largely consistent iconography, identified by her elaborate headdress and extensive jewellery and is typically seated in lalitasana or royal pose. Despite this consistency in her representation, the number of arms may differ from as few as two, to as many as six. Although the six-armed image originates from India, it is almost exclusive to Nepalese art.

A Tibetan carnelian dzi bead necklace, comprising thirty-two irregular barrel shaped beads with white banded and dot decoration, a larger bead to one end, a faceted marker bead to the other, total length 112cm, lengths of beads ranging from 2.7cm to 3.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan banded agate bead necklace, comprising thirty-two irregular ovoid beads with black, dark brown, paler brown, white and grey banding and a smaller marker bead, total length 86cm, lengths of each bead ranging from 2.5cm to 2.9cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A pair of metal and glass folding spectacles, purportedly belonging to the 10th Panchen Lama, width 13.4cm, cased. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan iron seal, 16th/17th century, with silvered and gilt detail, the trilobed finial and tapered shaft cast in relief with lotus and scrolling tendrils, height 8.8cm, together with a Tibetan bronze cylindrical seal, 19th century, the sides incised with five lines of text and seal mark, height 6.8cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan gilt bronze miniature figure of Kubera, 16th century, modelled seated in lalitasana holding a mongoose in his left hand, on a lotus throne, height 6.6cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection. Note: Kubera is the god of wealth & prosperity and is often accompanied by a mongoose.

A Chinese gilt bronze figure of a dog, Han dynasty, the hound modelled in a recumbent pose, length 6.8cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A group of three Tibetan bronze vajras, 15th century and later, comprising two with eight-pronged crown terminals and central knop, length 19.1cm and 12.8cm, and a small vajra with four-pronged crown terminals, length 5.7cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A Tibetan saddle rug, early 20th century, the charcoal field with a scene of a deer, tree and red-capped crane within a blue key fret border, 146cm x 67cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.

A pair of large Chinese sancai glazed pottery figures of Buddhistic lions, late Qing dynasty, each modelled in a seated pose with paw resting on a lion cub, height 65cm. Provenance: the Alain Presencer Collection.