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Lot Essay
The present image of the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni, is a paragon of the Tibetan sculptural tradition. The Buddha is seated in vajrasana, the classical diamond posture, recalling the seminal moment when he attained enlightenment under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya where the Mahabodhi Temple now stands. With his right hand, he touches the ground in the gesture of bhumisparshamudra, asking the earth to bear witness to the truth of his teachings. His elongated earlobes, weighed down by the heavy earrings of his former princely life, represent his rejection of worldly goods. His simple robe, stitched from a patchwork of scraps, leaves his right shoulder bare, the custom of Buddhist monks in South and Southeast Asia when paying respect to a venerated holy site.
While many images of the Buddha cast in Tibet depict him wearing a diaphanous and unadorned sanghati, earlier Nepalese models have the Buddha garbed in patchwork robes, which was then carried over into some Tibetan sculptures. See, for example, a gilt-silver figure of Buddha Shakyamuni originally in the Pan-Asian Collection and personal collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth and now in a private collection, illustrated by M. Rhie and R. Thurman in Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet – Expanded Edition, New York, 2000, p. 471, no. 227. Similarly, two silver-inlaid gilt-bronze figures of Buddha Shakyamuni from the same workshop, both with patchwork robes were sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 2804 and Christie’s New York, 21 March 2018, lot 306, respectively.
The present figure and the previously cited comparable examples share the same pinched waist, muscular upper body, treatment of the drapery, and serene facial expression that reveal the influence of the Nepalese sculptural style. Indeed, the Nepalese style was prevalent throughout much of the Himalayas in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and in particular the central regions of Tibet, from which the present figure originates. The Newaris, the traditional inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, were the master bronze casters of the period, and their services were patronized far and wide, including at the imperial workshops of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. While the present figure exudes characteristics of Nepalese sculpture, the gilding and the tone of the bronze beneath identify this as a masterpiece made in Tibet.
While many images of the Buddha cast in Tibet depict him wearing a diaphanous and unadorned sanghati, earlier Nepalese models have the Buddha garbed in patchwork robes, which was then carried over into some Tibetan sculptures. See, for example, a gilt-silver figure of Buddha Shakyamuni originally in the Pan-Asian Collection and personal collection of Robert Hatfield Ellsworth and now in a private collection, illustrated by M. Rhie and R. Thurman in Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet – Expanded Edition, New York, 2000, p. 471, no. 227. Similarly, two silver-inlaid gilt-bronze figures of Buddha Shakyamuni from the same workshop, both with patchwork robes were sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 31 May 2017, lot 2804 and Christie’s New York, 21 March 2018, lot 306, respectively.
The present figure and the previously cited comparable examples share the same pinched waist, muscular upper body, treatment of the drapery, and serene facial expression that reveal the influence of the Nepalese sculptural style. Indeed, the Nepalese style was prevalent throughout much of the Himalayas in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and in particular the central regions of Tibet, from which the present figure originates. The Newaris, the traditional inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, were the master bronze casters of the period, and their services were patronized far and wide, including at the imperial workshops of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. While the present figure exudes characteristics of Nepalese sculpture, the gilding and the tone of the bronze beneath identify this as a masterpiece made in Tibet.