A RARE AND INSCRIBED CHINESE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF THE FIFTH PANCHEN LAMA, LOBSANG YESHE (1663-1737) 17TH CENTURY/18TH CENTURY Seated in dhyanasana on two rectangular cushions intricately detailed with cartouches containing sprays of blossoming lotus surrounded by cell diaper, his right hand raised in vitarka mudra, dressed in voluminous patchwork robes embroidered with further lotus blooms and with incised hems, his face with a serene expression and with pendulous earlobes, the reverse of the base inscribed identifying the figure as Lobsang Yeshe, the fifth Panchen lama, 4.6kg, 21.4cm. From the collection of Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson (1891- 1974), acquired prior to 1939, English civil servant, businessman, and Orientalist best known for his studies of the Turkic languages. Clauson studied and published on Chinese Buddhist texts written in Tibetan script, co-authoring various editions and translations. In 1912, Clauson had joined the Royal Asiatic Society, of which he was to remain an active and committed member until his death in May 1974. Clauson served as both President and Director, and in the year before his death was presented with a special commemorative gold medal by the Queen for his services to the society. Lobsang Yeshe was the fifth Panchen Lama, one of the highest-ranking lamas in the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. He played a major role in religious scholarship, monastic leadership, and relations between Tibet and the Qing dynasty. He was given the title Erdini by the Kangxi Emperor, meaning 'treasure', and possessed by all Panchen Lamas thereafter. For a very similar depiction of a different figure, the seventh Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso, see Bonhams London,10th November 2010, noting the very similar rendering of the cushions. Compare also with the 18th century figures of Rolpai Dorje in The State Hermitage Museum, illustrated in Marylin Rhie, Wisdom and Compassion, The Sacred Art of Tibet, p.276, no.100 . See also Bonhams New York, Portraits of the Masters, 4th March 2017, lot 3295 for a 17th century depiction of Lobsang Yeshe. 十七/十八世紀 銅鎏金第五世班禪喇嘛洛桑益西 來源:傑拉德・萊斯利・馬金斯・克勞森爵士(Sir Gerard Leslie Makins Clauson,1891–1974)舊藏。克勞森為英國公務員、商人及東方學家,以其對突厥語族語言的研究而聞名。他曾研究並發表以藏文書寫的中國佛教文獻,並參與多種版本的整理與翻譯工作。1912年,克勞森加入英國皇家亞洲學會,並一直是該學會積極且忠誠的成員,直至1974年5月逝世。。逝世前一年他曾先後擔任學會會長及理事,因其對學會的卓越貢獻,獲女王頒授特別紀念金質獎章。 Together with a copy of a letter to Clauson from W. Simm of The School of Oriental Studies Library, University of London, dated July 11th 1939, identifying the figure as Lobsang Yeshe and advising on textual references and a copy of a postcard to Clauson also from W. Simm, dated 13th July 1939, discussing the dates of Lobsang Yeshe, the fifth Panchen lama and further references.