Christie’s sale of Indian and Southeast Asian Art on 19 March will offer 160 works of art, spanning a multitude of collecting categories, including classical Indian sculpture and paintings, as well as works of art from Gandhara, Tibet, Nepal, Thailand, and Indonesia.  Among the top lots of the sale is a Tibeto-Chinese gilt bronze figure of a Pancha Raksha deity (estimate: $150,000-250,000) from the 14th/15th century.  The Pancha Raksha, or “five protector goddesses,” are a group of five female deities that are personifications of the five early Buddhist texts (sutras), the oldest of which dates to the 4th century. 

The sale will also offer a Densatil-style Tibetan gilt bronze figure of a Nagaraja from the 15th century (estimate: $100,000-150,000), which represents a serpent king. His regal character is emphasized by the abundance of ornaments and richly inlaid jewelry and his graceful gesture of supplication and adoration is considered to be among the most iconic of the Densatil group.

Also included in the sale are a 16th century Nepalese gilt bronze figure of Maitreya (estimate: $100,000-150,000), and a Tibetan pair of paintings of Tsongkhapa, circa 1800 (estimate: $60,000-80,000).