Stuttgart auction house Nagel called it ‘beyond doubt one of the most important gilt-bronzes to appear on the market for many years’ – and the monumental Ming dynasty Sino-Tibetan figure of the wrathful deity Vajrabhairava did not disappoint.
It became the most expensive work of art ever sold in Germany when it made €9.5m (£8.64m) on June 23.
Key to its significance is its impressive size, extraordinary detail and an imperial Presentation inscription dated 1473. Cast in several pieces, it stands 3ft 1in (94cm) tall and depicts Vajrabhairava, the destroyer of death, with 34 arms, 16 legs, and a nine-faced head.