5th Dalai Lama?

I bought this brass or copper(?) figure earlier this year on a local buy and sell site. (It looks quite old, but almost anything can be made to look older than it actually is, so I am not sure of the age). The seller didn't have much information. He inherited it when his mother passed away some 40 years ago and had no idea where she got it from. 14,5 cm long, 10 cm wide, 18 cm tall, 1535 g. Two of the legs has had some restoration at some point. The closest I have found online are sculptures of the 5th Dalai Lama, but I am not sure if this one is of him. Any information is welcome. Thank you!

 

Welcome back Divina- @Any Jewelry should know

 

I wonder if the poor casting and repairs suggest an older item???

 

As far as I know, Dalai Lamas are depicted wearing the yellow hat/hood of their Gelugpa order.
I think he is a lama. Not a Dalai Lama, but with that scroll he is one that is known as a teacher.
He could be Zanabazar, a teacher who brought Tibetan Buddhism to Mongolia, and adapted it to Mongolian culture.

The repairs probably do. It was certainly cherished enough to have it repaired.
As for the quality of the casting, there are Himalayan bronzes from the Medieval period that are top quality.

 

Yes, but I'll wager that they were not made as often for the average household ...

 

Yes, the quality has more to do with affordibility than with age. Even people who didn't have much money wanted a home altar. That was the same then as it is now.

 

Thank you for the reply. Is it possible to give a rough estimate as to how old this piece could be?

 

Very difficult to say. Looking at it again, it looks like the plinth could be older than the figurine. The figurine could have been fixed to an older plinth as a sign of respect.
I will have to look at it again a couple of times before I can say more.