A GILT-COPPER FIGURE OF ACHALANEPAL, MALLA PERIOD, 15TH-16TH CENTURY43⁄4 in. (12.1 cm.) highDetails43⁄4 in. (12.1 cm.) highProvenanceAcquired in Hong Kong, late 1990s, by repute.Literature‌Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 8020.This gilt-copper figure of Achala is immediately recognizable as a Newar work of art, with its visibly coppery metal, open-work lotus base, and delicately-treated casting of the sashes that adorn him. While the color of this deity’s celestial appearance is not apparent, the lack of wrathful traits tells us that this deity is White Achala. Though wrathful according to scripture, White Achala is a wisdom deity associated with the removal of obstacles, which may account for the peaceful appearance of the present figure. This benign countenance, along with the modeling of the jewelry and style of halo, are very similar to another sixteenth-century example published by U. von Schroeder in Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 386, fig. 105A. ---