拍品专文
The poses of this figure and the following figure, with opposite hands raised and graceful bodies swayed in opposite directions, suggest that they originally stood on either side of a central Buddha image, as divine attendants, such as those seen illustrated by D. Tokiwa and T. Sekino, Buddhist Monuments in China, Part I, Tokyo, 1925, pl. 1-24 to 1-29. As Avalokitesvara and Mahsthamaprapta, two of the eight bodhisattvas intended to show the faithful the road to the paradise of Amitabha, they very likely would have flanked a figure of Amitabha Buddha. The cult of this Buddha became increasingly prominent from the late 7th century onwards.
Sirn in Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, op.cit., identifies these two figures as being from Shensi (Shaanxi) province. Other bodhisattva figures or heads similarly indentified share the same hair style and round face with small, well-detailed features. See op.cit, pl. 376 A-C, pl. 383 A, pl. 393 A and B, and pl. 395 A and B.
The poses, modeling of the supple torso and U-shaped folds of the skirt can also be seen on the more elongated bodies of bodhisattvas from Longmen and environs, such as the Jinan, Erlianhua South and Leigutai Middle Caves, which are believed to be from the late seventh and early eighth centuries. See Longmen wenwu baoguan suo and Beijing daxue kaoguxi, Zhongguo shiku (Chugoku sekkutsu); Longmen shiku, vol. 2, Tokyo and Beijing: Heibonsha and Wenwu Press, 1988, pls. 187, 188, 194 and 256; and Longmen wenwu baogun suo, Longmen shiku, Beijing Wenwu Press, 1980, pls. 184 and 185.
Compare, also, the pair of bodhisattvas similarly identified as Avalokitesvara and Mahsthamaprapta, in the National Museum of History, Taipei, illustrated in Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from the Wei through the T'ang Dynasties, Taipei, 1983, p. 151, no. 22. As well as the stylistic similarities, the figures share iconographic details and also stand on a waisted lotus base. However, the tribhanga pose of the present examples is more pronounced, giving them greater movement and vitality. See, also, the examples illustrated by Saburo Matsubara, in Chuugoku Bukkyo Chokukishi Ron (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), Tokyo, 1995, vol. 3, Tang, Five Dynasties and Taoist Sculpture, p. 692; in Chinese Art in Overseas Collections, Buddhist Sculpture, Taiwan, 1990, fig. 102; in Longmen Liusan Diaoxiang Ji (The Lost Statues of the Longmen Caves), Shanghai, 1993, p. 46; and the pair originally in the collection of Stephen Junkunc, III, sold in these rooms, 21 September 1995, lots 301 and 302 and included in the exhibition, The Art of Contemplation - Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, Catalogue, pp. 172-173, nos. 68 and 69.
Sirn in Chinese Sculpture from the Fifth to the Fourteenth Century, op.cit., identifies these two figures as being from Shensi (Shaanxi) province. Other bodhisattva figures or heads similarly indentified share the same hair style and round face with small, well-detailed features. See op.cit, pl. 376 A-C, pl. 383 A, pl. 393 A and B, and pl. 395 A and B.
The poses, modeling of the supple torso and U-shaped folds of the skirt can also be seen on the more elongated bodies of bodhisattvas from Longmen and environs, such as the Jinan, Erlianhua South and Leigutai Middle Caves, which are believed to be from the late seventh and early eighth centuries. See Longmen wenwu baoguan suo and Beijing daxue kaoguxi, Zhongguo shiku (Chugoku sekkutsu); Longmen shiku, vol. 2, Tokyo and Beijing: Heibonsha and Wenwu Press, 1988, pls. 187, 188, 194 and 256; and Longmen wenwu baogun suo, Longmen shiku, Beijing Wenwu Press, 1980, pls. 184 and 185.
Compare, also, the pair of bodhisattvas similarly identified as Avalokitesvara and Mahsthamaprapta, in the National Museum of History, Taipei, illustrated in Chinese Buddhist Sculpture from the Wei through the T'ang Dynasties, Taipei, 1983, p. 151, no. 22. As well as the stylistic similarities, the figures share iconographic details and also stand on a waisted lotus base. However, the tribhanga pose of the present examples is more pronounced, giving them greater movement and vitality. See, also, the examples illustrated by Saburo Matsubara, in Chuugoku Bukkyo Chokukishi Ron (The Path of Chinese Buddhist Sculpture), Tokyo, 1995, vol. 3, Tang, Five Dynasties and Taoist Sculpture, p. 692; in Chinese Art in Overseas Collections, Buddhist Sculpture, Taiwan, 1990, fig. 102; in Longmen Liusan Diaoxiang Ji (The Lost Statues of the Longmen Caves), Shanghai, 1993, p. 46; and the pair originally in the collection of Stephen Junkunc, III, sold in these rooms, 21 September 1995, lots 301 and 302 and included in the exhibition, The Art of Contemplation - Religious Sculpture from Private Collections, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 1997, Catalogue, pp. 172-173, nos. 68 and 69.