Auction introduction: Effective May 20th, 2024, Sotheby's has lowered its Buyer's Premium rates and removed Overhead Premium for all categories excluding Wine & Spirits. Sotheby's Overhead Premium will only be charged for Wine & Spirits lots. Please refer to the Conditions of Business located on the relevant sale page for the updated rates. This September, Sotheby’s will present Dharma and Tantra, a carefully curated auction of 75 sculptures, paintings and ritual works of art that encapsulate the development and diffusion of Buddhist art in Asia. The journey originates in the ancient region of Gandhara, progressing through Nepal and Tibet, traversing the Silk Road from the Sui dynasty to the Silla kingdom, and finally culminating in the Imperial palaces of Ming and Qing dynasty China. The sale is led by two exceptional gilt-bronzes emanating from an old English collection: an extensively published Yongle mark and period figure of Vajrasattva, and an important inscribed portrait figure of the Fifth Dalai Lama. Highlights of the Tibetan paintings include a newly discovered Taklung portrait of Dragpei Tsenchen (1376-1421), the Fifth Abbot of Riwoche Monastery, and an 18th century thangka depicting Kalachakra. Korean highlights include a Silla dynasty bronze standing figure of Buddha originally in the collection of Gunou Shoshi, and a large painting depicting the Assembly of Buddha from the Imperial Korea era. The sale is rich in provenance, with property from several American and European private collections, including a group of gilt-bronzes from the collection of Stephen Junkunc IV, and a selection of published Buddhist art spanning two millennia from the collection of David Nalin.