{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O24998"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O24998/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT7691/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT7691/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AT7691","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O24998/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O24998","accessionNumber":"IS.38-1994","objectType":"Sculpture","titles":[{"title":"Vajrasattva","type":"generic title"}],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Male figure seated on a circular lotus pedestal with his left leg hanging pendant (lalitāsana), cast in copper alloy (likely bronze). He rests a vajra-bell held in his left hand on his left knee and holds a vajra in his right hand, raised to the centre of his chest. Though abraded, the face of the figure, his tiered crown, and ornaments in the form of necklaces, armlets, and ear ornaments are clearly visible. Iconographically, this sculpture depicts the bodhisattva Vajrasattva, a central figure in the Buddhist Tantras, commonly associated with the practitioner in esoteric Buddhist ritual, in which the two implements held by the figure (the vajra-bell and the vajra) are employed. Stylistically, this sculpture is comparable with others made in Central Java and elsewhere in Indonesia in the 9th century.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"copper alloy","id":"x40014"}],"techniques":[{"text":"lost-wax","id":"AAT53113"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Bronze","categories":[],"styles":[{"text":"Srivijayan","id":"x32284"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"SSEA","id":"THES48598"},"images":["2006AT7691"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"002","id":"THES394900"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Figure","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Indonesia","id":"x30044"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"ca. 9th century","earliest":"0795-01-01","latest":"0904-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"Bought from Alex Biancardi, who acquired it in the mid to late 1960s.\r\n\r\nAlexander Biancardi (1924–1999) was a collector and dealer who had a particualr in interest in ancient and medieval religious sculpture from South and South-East Asia. The V&A holds a substantial group of objects associated with him which were acquired through purchases, gifts, and bequests from Biancardi and his family between the late 1980s and late 1990s. Several of these objects are currently on display.\r\n\r\nBorn in Alexandria, Egypt, Biancardi moved to Australia in 1947, where he entered the textile trade. In the early 1960s, he relocated to France and worked for a Dutch textile company with business interests in Asia. His exposure to the region led him to begin collecting Asian art in the 1950s, a pursuit he continued into the 1990s. He returned to Australia later in life.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Sculpture of Vajrasattva, copper alloy, 9th century, Indonesia","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"Western Indonesia","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[{"text":"Buddhist","id":"AAT73738"}],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["IS.38-1994"],"accessionNumberNum":"38","accessionNumberPrefix":"IS","accessionYear":1994,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-07-11","recordCreationDate":"2000-02-13","availableToBook":true}}