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拍品专文
The present figure depicts Maitreya, the future Buddha, seated on a low throne with his legs pendent and resting on a diminutive lotus base. He is framed by an elaborate throne-back, on which the lineage masters of the Karma Kagyu school are depicted. His hands are held in dharmachakra mudra , the gesture of exposition, awaiting the day when the teachings of the Gautama Buddha, Shakyamuni, are forgotten by earth's inhabitants, at which point he will descend from the Tushita Heaven to renew the buddha dharma.
Although there are many sculptures of Maitreya that survive Maitreya in the present form, the survival of the throne-back and its specificity of lineage makes this sculpture extremely rare. At the apex of the throne-back is Vajradhara, the primordial Buddha. Directly below the primordial Buddha, the two sides feature Tilopa and Naropa, who were both Mahasiddhas who have, in a single lifetime, achieved direct realization of the Buddha's teachings. Then continuing down on the left side of the throne-back is the great Buddhist teacher and translator Marpa Chokyi Lodro (1012-1097). Below him is his student, the Tibetan saint, Milarepa (1052-1135). To read more about Milarepa’s iconography and life story, see lot 528 of the present sale. Below Milarepa is his main student Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (1079–1153), one of the two founding patriarchs of the Karma Kagyu school. The opposite side of the statue likely depicts the first Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193) and the second Karmapa Karma Pakshi (1206-1282). The fine artistry of the openwork base, with vegetal scrollwork, shows a clear Nepalese influence, popular in the U and Tsang province of Central Tibet during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Compare the shape of the backrest of the present work with a large sixteenth century wooden sculpture of Maitreya in the Pelkor Choede Monastery, Gyantse, Central Tibet. The delicately-cast lobbed nimbus of the Vajradhara at the top of the sculpture also shows influence from Malla period sculptures. Further evidence for a Nepalese influence is the varied precious stone inlay, which is indicative of the Newari tradition of Buddhist sculpture making. Compare the figure's features and elaborately decorated platform with another Maitreya sculpture preserved in the Jokhang Temple collection published by Ulrich von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet. Vol. Two: Indian & Nepalese , p. 1062, pl. 271A, Hong Kong, 2001.
Although there are many sculptures of Maitreya that survive Maitreya in the present form, the survival of the throne-back and its specificity of lineage makes this sculpture extremely rare. At the apex of the throne-back is Vajradhara, the primordial Buddha. Directly below the primordial Buddha, the two sides feature Tilopa and Naropa, who were both Mahasiddhas who have, in a single lifetime, achieved direct realization of the Buddha's teachings. Then continuing down on the left side of the throne-back is the great Buddhist teacher and translator Marpa Chokyi Lodro (1012-1097). Below him is his student, the Tibetan saint, Milarepa (1052-1135). To read more about Milarepa’s iconography and life story, see lot 528 of the present sale. Below Milarepa is his main student Gampopa Sonam Rinchen (1079–1153), one of the two founding patriarchs of the Karma Kagyu school. The opposite side of the statue likely depicts the first Karmapa Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193) and the second Karmapa Karma Pakshi (1206-1282). The fine artistry of the openwork base, with vegetal scrollwork, shows a clear Nepalese influence, popular in the U and Tsang province of Central Tibet during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Compare the shape of the backrest of the present work with a large sixteenth century wooden sculpture of Maitreya in the Pelkor Choede Monastery, Gyantse, Central Tibet. The delicately-cast lobbed nimbus of the Vajradhara at the top of the sculpture also shows influence from Malla period sculptures. Further evidence for a Nepalese influence is the varied precious stone inlay, which is indicative of the Newari tradition of Buddhist sculpture making. Compare the figure's features and elaborately decorated platform with another Maitreya sculpture preserved in the Jokhang Temple collection published by Ulrich von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet. Vol. Two: Indian & Nepalese , p. 1062, pl. 271A, Hong Kong, 2001.