.jpg?w=1)
拍品專文
The inscription may be translated as: 'Zhengshi first year (A.D. 504), eleventh month, thirtieth day, Gaoping village, Han Yuan (name of the artisan), respectfully made this for Shan Mei (younger sister, the devotee), this image of Guanshiyin (Padmapani)'. The meaning of the remaining characters is obscure but it may be translated as: '(Commissioned by) the devotee Shen Tianjian's filial daughter, Yin'. This last sentance refers to the lady devotee, by the name of Yin, who commissioned this image and her father's name is Shen Tianjian. The two sides with short inscriptions indicating two donors: the first can be identified as a lady devotee (the same lady as the main text), and the other by the name of Zhang Sike, probably the lady's husband.
The lotus-bearing manifestations of Avalokitesvara, also known as Padmapani (and in Chinese it is known as Guanshiyin Pusa), was a popular image in early Chinese Buddhism. The lotus is symbolic of purity, and as such, it is a common attribute of the deity.
The inscription dates the present image to A.D. 504 which corresponds to the latter part of the Northern Wei dynasty (A.D. 386-534). The casting of the mandorla and depiction of the figure itself, appear to be less stylised and more developed compared to published examples, all of which pre-dates the present Padmapani by their inscriptions. Cf. a number of published dated Padmapani images: the first illustrated by Matsubara Saburo, Chugoku Bukkyo Chokoku Silun, Japan, 1995, vol. I, p. 108a (dated to A.D. 464); the P. T. Brooke Sewell gift in the British Museum, illustrated by W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism - Art and Faith, London, 1985, p. 199, no. 284 (A.D. 471); from the Seattle Art Museum, cast with an additional image of Amitabha above the nimbus, illustrated by H. Munsterberg, Chinese Gilt Bronzes, New York, 1988, no. 41 (A.D. 485); and the example in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, Taibei, 1996, no. 3 (A.D. 498).
As a later example, it is interesting to note the treatment in the delineated folds of the skirt and the scarf, both of which are more fluid in movement than other examples from the earlier Taihe period (A.D. 477-500). Despite a maturation of style, the drapery still retains elements of its Gandharan prototype as seen in the depiction of the dhoti, crossed garlands, and scarves. Compare the twisted dhoti with those worn by a Gandharan style standing Bodhisattva dated to the 4th century, in the Fuji Museum, Kyoto, illustrated by H. Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, New York, 1988, pl. 39a.
The lotus-bearing manifestations of Avalokitesvara, also known as Padmapani (and in Chinese it is known as Guanshiyin Pusa), was a popular image in early Chinese Buddhism. The lotus is symbolic of purity, and as such, it is a common attribute of the deity.
The inscription dates the present image to A.D. 504 which corresponds to the latter part of the Northern Wei dynasty (A.D. 386-534). The casting of the mandorla and depiction of the figure itself, appear to be less stylised and more developed compared to published examples, all of which pre-dates the present Padmapani by their inscriptions. Cf. a number of published dated Padmapani images: the first illustrated by Matsubara Saburo, Chugoku Bukkyo Chokoku Silun, Japan, 1995, vol. I, p. 108a (dated to A.D. 464); the P. T. Brooke Sewell gift in the British Museum, illustrated by W. Zwalf (ed.), Buddhism - Art and Faith, London, 1985, p. 199, no. 284 (A.D. 471); from the Seattle Art Museum, cast with an additional image of Amitabha above the nimbus, illustrated by H. Munsterberg, Chinese Gilt Bronzes, New York, 1988, no. 41 (A.D. 485); and the example in the National Palace Museum, Taibei, illustrated in Recently Acquired Gilt-Bronze Buddhist Images, Taibei, 1996, no. 3 (A.D. 498).
As a later example, it is interesting to note the treatment in the delineated folds of the skirt and the scarf, both of which are more fluid in movement than other examples from the earlier Taihe period (A.D. 477-500). Despite a maturation of style, the drapery still retains elements of its Gandharan prototype as seen in the depiction of the dhoti, crossed garlands, and scarves. Compare the twisted dhoti with those worn by a Gandharan style standing Bodhisattva dated to the 4th century, in the Fuji Museum, Kyoto, illustrated by H. Munsterberg, Chinese Buddhist Bronzes, New York, 1988, pl. 39a.