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Lot Essay
This impressive early bronze figure of Sakyamuni reflects the influence of Buddhist images from Indian Gandhara, particularly in its depiction of the wavy hair and delineated folds of the drapery. Compare the present image with a Gandharan stone carving depicting three scenes from the Life of the Buddha, dated to the 3rd century, included in the exhibition, In the Footsteps of Buddha - An Iconic Journey from India to China, Hong Kong, 1998, illustrated in the Catalogue, p. 161, no. 14.
The seated posture with crossed-legs and hands held together appear to be standard iconography during the 4th to 5th century, and can be compared with early examples such as the gilt-bronze Buddha from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, dated to 338 A.D., illustrated by U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 499, no. 141E; from the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, ibid., no. 141A; and two examples both dated 302-439 A.D., from the Nitta Collection, exhibited in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, 1987, The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom, illustrated in the Catalogue, pls. 55 and 56. Although the present example dates slightly later than the cited gilt-bronzes, the image has retained elements that are comparable to those of earlier period. It is also interesting to note the additional backdrop of an elongated, well-proportioned, mandorla. This demonstrates a transition in iconographic style between singularly cast images from the 4th century and the more developed images with elaborate mandorla of the mid-to-late Northern Wei period, such as the figure of Padmapani in the present sale, lot 503, dated to A.D. 504.
The reverse side of the mandorla is chased with images of Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna. The combination of these two deities is derived from the Saddharmapundarika Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, where the text describes how Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of the Past who had long entered nirvana, returns on a jewelled stupa to hear Sakyamuni preaching the dharma. For a gilt-bronze Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna group dated to A.D. 518 in the Musée Guimet, see H. Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, New York, 1988, no. 34, and again by U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, no. 142G.
The seated posture with crossed-legs and hands held together appear to be standard iconography during the 4th to 5th century, and can be compared with early examples such as the gilt-bronze Buddha from the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, dated to 338 A.D., illustrated by U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, p. 499, no. 141E; from the Nelson-Atkins Museum, Kansas City, ibid., no. 141A; and two examples both dated 302-439 A.D., from the Nitta Collection, exhibited in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, 1987, The Crucible of Compassion and Wisdom, illustrated in the Catalogue, pls. 55 and 56. Although the present example dates slightly later than the cited gilt-bronzes, the image has retained elements that are comparable to those of earlier period. It is also interesting to note the additional backdrop of an elongated, well-proportioned, mandorla. This demonstrates a transition in iconographic style between singularly cast images from the 4th century and the more developed images with elaborate mandorla of the mid-to-late Northern Wei period, such as the figure of Padmapani in the present sale, lot 503, dated to A.D. 504.
The reverse side of the mandorla is chased with images of Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna. The combination of these two deities is derived from the Saddharmapundarika Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, where the text describes how Prabhutaratna, the Buddha of the Past who had long entered nirvana, returns on a jewelled stupa to hear Sakyamuni preaching the dharma. For a gilt-bronze Sakyamuni and Prabhutaratna group dated to A.D. 518 in the Musée Guimet, see H. Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, New York, 1988, no. 34, and again by U. von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, no. 142G.