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height 68.5 cm Provenance: Cerruti    the facial expression is relaxed and strong at once: the arched eyebrows meet at the tip of the nose to frame the eyes, that are elegantly curved in deep meditation. The body is proportioned according to the standards of Tibetan iconography, allowing a sense of naturalness to shine through. A part of his long black hair is gathered up into a high bun and a part flows down to his feet. He is wearing the thirteen ornaments of a princely Bodhisattva: the five-pointed crown, heavy earrings, several necklaces, armbands, bracelets, strands of pearls, belt and anklets. He stands upright on a pedestal of lotus flowers in full bloom and in his hands he holds a cup. ZANABAZARTibetan Buddhism, a religion of strong ritual character and with a crowded pantheon of gods and deities, was a source of inspiration for religious art in Mongolia. Mongolian art was strongly influenced by the styles of the neighboring regions of Tibet, India, Nepal and China. Cultural relations between Tibet and Mongolia were closely woven and long-standing: Tibetan Lamas would proselytize in Mongolia and Mongols would go on pilgrimages to Tibet. Tibetan sculptures and objects of worship were precious fruits of these travels and were a source of inspiration for local masters. Artists would follow the descriptions in the religious texts when designing the sacred image, faithfully observing its iconography and proportions. Mongolian sculpture art, while sharing the same iconography as Tibetan and Chinese art, stands out significantly due to precise technical and formal characteristics. The style of the ornament, the shape of the lotus petals and the way the base is inserted and sealed often reveals evidence on the country of origin. In the late 17th and early 18th century, the sculptor par excellence in the Buddhist countries was Zanabazar. Bogdo Gegen Zanabazar (Mongolia 1635-1723) was the son of the Tusheet Khan, one of the leaders of Mongolia in the 17th century, a direct descendant of Chinggis Khan, the founder of the Mongol Empire. Zanabazar was not only a great artist, but also an enlightened monk and one of the most relevant characters in his country’s political, religious and cultural history. During a trip to Tibet in 1640, he was recognized both by the Panchen Lama and by the Dalai Lama as a living Buddha and was considered to be the fist Mongolian incarnation of the Buddha Avalokitesvara. Esteemed scholar, astrologer, physician and poet, Zanabazar was often surrounded by an aura of legend, but he is best known for his unparalleled sculptures, which are among the top works of Buddhist art. In Zanabazar’s work, and especially in the sculptures, mostly made by the followers of his school, what stands out thanks to their singular beauty are the proportions and the facial expressions of the deities, portrayed in deep meditation, skillfully depicted according to the characteristics of the ideal body. In 1688 Zanabazar wrote the new alphabet Soyomb, whose symbol appears on the flag of Mongolia. Zanabazar’s greatest contribution to Mongolian art were his sculptures in gilt bronze. They portray young, beautifully proportioned figures. Their faces are characterized by a high forehead, thin arched eyebrows, high-bridged noses and small plump lips. The jewelry is sophisticated, especially the simple long strand of pearls laid across the bust. Zanabazar’s sculptures are generally composed of two parts, the body and the pedestal, created separately and then welded together. Most of the sculptures were then mercury-gilded. In keeping with the Tibetan tradition, faces were often painted in gold and lips and eyes were colored with mineral pigments. Pacific deities had blue-painted hair, while the ferocious guardians were painted with red hair. The lotus pedestals in Zanabazar's and his school’s sculptures are peculiar. Rather than the typical oval and rectangular Tibetan throne, they show a preference for circular or drum-shaped and semi-oval pedestals with tall bases. Zanabazar’s school also stands out for the many varieties of beautiful lotus petals and for the beaded decorations on the upper part of the pedestal, and sometimes on the bottom too. A special emphasis is placed on the stamens of lotus flowers: they were meticulously engraved either as vertical stripes below the row of beads or as small fan-shaped groups between the lotus petals.In the Tibetan tradition, even in Mongolia, sculptures were given a blessing upon completion. Sacred items like prayer rolls and other relics were placed inside the statue and the base was sealed with a metal plate. The standard decoration for this lower plate was a double-dorje engraving, although some were left without a decoration. Zanabazar’s double dorje was particularly well-refined and often gilded. In the intersection between the two dorjes, some remained without a decoration, while in others we can find three circular segments, symbolizing an endless change and a blissful mind radiating compassion.Ambassador Vittorio Cerruti Born in 1881 in Novara, he graduated in law from the University of Rome in July 1903. Entered through competition in the diplomatic career, at first he was Secretary of legation in Vienna. During World War I he moved to several countries up to September 1922, when he was appointed as Minister Plenipotentiary in Beijing. He got married in 1923 with Elizabeth de Paulay, who was Hungarian, and left China in 1926. In 1922 he had the opportunity to attend the last Chinese imperial wedding, when China had already become a Republican country, and he had the honor of being granted an audience with the Panchen Lama during his visit to Beijing in 1926. In 1927 he was appointed Ambassador, the youngest since the constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, and assigned to Moscow, then to Brazil in 1930 and finally in 1932 he was transferred to Berlin at the Italian Embassy in Germany. The appointment was due to Mussolini’s full recognition of his qualities as an expert of the German and Central European world. In the problematic context of national socialism, his diplomatic skills proved themselves valuable thanks to his lucid analysis, his insights in making forecasts and his ability to remain uninfluenced by the environment in which he operated. His last assignment was in Paris from 1935 to 1937. Laid off at age fifty-seven in June 1938, he went back to his father’s activity, becoming President of the Banca popolare di Novara and becoming a Board member of various companies. He died in Novara on April 25, 1961.