拍品 1961
1961
A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT IMPERIAL EARLY MING GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS
BESTOWING INFINITE LIFE: A RARE LEGACY OF XUANDE ROSEMARY SCOTT - INTERNATIONAL ACADEMIC DIRECTOR, ASIAN ART This magnificent and serene Amitayus is a rare example of an imperial gilt-bronze Buddhist figure from the reign of the Xuande emperor (AD 1426-35). Many scholars and connoisseurs regard the imperial gilt-bronze figures of the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande reigns as aesthetically amongst the finest sculptures ever made in China, and see this period during the first half of the 15th century as a particular high point in Buddhist sculpture. While the gilt-bronze figures made in the imperial workshops during both the Yongle (1403-24) and Xuande reigns were equally fine, far fewer figures from the latter reign period appear to have survived. Even amongst the few extant Xuande statues, the current figure is especially rare, since it is considerably larger than the majority of surviving examples. The figure exhibits the technical perfection and artistic grace that has come to be associated with the gilt-bronze Buddhist figures of the Yongle and Xuande reigns made in a style known as Tibeto-Chinese or Sino-Tibetan. Tibetan Buddhism or Lamaism saw a considerable increase in popularity in China under the Mongols, who had adopted it as their national religion even before their conquest of China. The first Ming dynasty emperor, Hongwu (1368-98), had joined a Buddhist temple as a novice at the age of seventeen and had spent eight years in monastic life. He retained an interest in Buddhism after becoming emperor and he was also concerned that there should not be repetition of the fierce conflict between China and Tibet that had occurred in Tang times. He therefore sent an envoy to the Karma-pa abbots who controlled the Kham region and south-eastern Tibet asking those who had held office under the Yuan dynasty to come to Nanjing for reinvestiture. It seems likely that the future Yongle emperor was introduced to Tibetan Buddhism and became interested in it around AD 1380, when he was enfeoffed in Beijing, and he also had strong ties to the Mongol military elite, who were adherents of Lamaist Buddhism. It appears that he continued to practice this form of Buddhism for the rest of his life. Certainly more works of art depicting Lamaist Buddhist deities and imagery were produced during his reign period than under any other Chinese emperor, with the exception of the Qing Emperor Qianlong. During the Yongle reign many Tibetan hierarchs were invited to the Chinese capital, where they were feted and presented with valuable gifts. Gifts frequently continued to be exchanged with the court even after they returned to Tibet. During the Xuande reign (1426-35) the number of Tibetan lamas who came to reside in the monasteries in the Chinese capital rose to record numbers, so much so that at the beginning of the Zhengtong period (1436-49), 691 of them were sent home. In 1434 the Xuande Emperor invited a high lama by the name of Sakya Yeshe to Beijing, and bestowed upon him the title Great Compassionate Dharma King. When the lama returned to Tibet, the emperor presented him with two portraits in Tibetan mandala format- one in tapestry and one in embroidery. However, official reports from the Xuande reign very rarely mention Buddhist sculptures as gifts sent to Tibet or presented to visiting hierarchs, and the small number of Xuande figures preserved in Tibet seems to confirm that far fewer gilt-bronze figures found their way to Tibet during the Xuande reign than in the Yongle period. This figure of Amitayus with its fine casting, large size and Xuande bestowal mark may have been intended as an imperial gift to a high lama, but is much more likely to have been intended for ritual use by a member, or members, of the imperial household. Although larger than either, the style of the current figure is very similar to two gilt bronze figures in the Reitberg Museum in Zurich - a seated figure of Manjusri and a kneeling figure of a Bodhisattva - both of which also bear Xuande bestowal marks (see On the Path to Enlightenment - The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zurich, 1995, pp. 118-9, no. 68 (fig. 1), and pp. 122-3, no. 72, respectively). It has been suggested that the Xuande kneeling bodhisattva in the Reitberg, may possibly be intended to represent a member of the Chinese imperial family. The Buddha Amitayus is the Buddha of Infinite Life, from 'amita' meaning infinite and 'ayus' meaning life. While the Buddha's hands are joined in dhyana-mudra, an attitude of meditation, they may also have held a jar containing amrita, the elixir of immortality. Amit?yus, who is closely linked to the Buddha Amitabha, the Buddha of Infinite Light, was an especially popular deity amongst Tibetans. This Buddha was depicted either in simple monk's robes without jewellery or crown, or as the crowned Amitayus, like the current example. Helmut Uhlig has noted that the majority of Tibeto-Chinese bronzes from the Yongle and Xuande reigns show crowned Buddhas wearing the elaborate jewellery of a monarch or of a magnificently adorned Bodhisattva. Uhlig states that: 'They formed part of the glittering display of imperial splendour, while at the same time representing the imperial family's and the court's visible religious link to the Buddhist world.' (see Helmut Uhlig in On the Path to Enlightenment - The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zurich, op. cit., p. 18). The figure of Amitayus, with his association with long life, may well have been commissioned for a special occasion, such as an imperial birthday - either that of the emperor himself, or that of another member of the royal family, possibly his mother Empress Zhang, who was a great support to him during his reign. THE PROPERTY OF A PROMINENT AMERICAN COLLECTOR
A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT IMPERIAL EARLY MING GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AMITAYUS

細節
明宣德 御製鎏金銅無量壽佛坐像 《大明宣德年施》款

無量壽佛面相方正豐滿，神態莊嚴。頭戴五葉寶冠，長髮披肩。袒上身，肩披帔帛，佩飾瓔珞，環釧。腰束長裙，衣褶起伏，自然流暢。雙手結禪定印，全跏趺坐。下承蓮座，蓮座上陰刻「大明宣德年施」款，字體秀美。

此尊無量壽佛坐像承永樂造像之風，裝飾繁瑣華麗，製作精美，身軀比例勻稱，充分體現了宣德時期宮廷造像的特色。

此佛像源自愛爾蘭收藏，1999年3月25日於紐約蘇富比拍賣，拍品121號。
金姿寶相
蘇玫瑰 - 國際亞洲藝術部學術總監

此尊神態安祥莊嚴的無量壽佛像是宣德朝鎏金銅佛像中罕見的傑作。許多學者和鑑賞家認為在十五世紀初期宮廷鎏金銅佛造像工藝已達最高的水平，永宣宫廷造像在中國歷史上製作最為精美。雖然永宣兩朝宫廷造像工藝相當，但傳世品中宣德朝造像比永樂朝造像要少得多，而在少如鳳毛麟角宣德朝佛像中，如此尊尺寸之大者，甚為珍罕。

此尊佛像展現了藏漢文化藝術交流、融會工藝的最高境界。在蒙古征服中國之前後，藏傳佛教已在中國普及並成為國教。明太祖朱元璋未即帝位以前和佛教有一段很深的因緣，十七歲曾在皇覺寺出家為沙彌，八年後還俗。直到建立明朝登上帝位後，對佛教採取保護政策，他不欲再唐代時西藏與中原政權發生的衝突歷史重演，固差遣特使入藏邀請噶瑪巴到南京再授封。這很可能令當時的燕王朱棣，將來的永樂皇帝在洪武十三年(1380年) 赴封國北平時接觸到藏傳佛教，並產生了極大的興趣，成為他終生的信仰。永樂皇帝在位期間，皇家作坊製作了許多精緻考究、以藏傳佛教為題材的工藝品，其數量除了清乾隆朝外為中國歷朝之冠。許多西藏活佛喇嘛應永樂帝之邀進宮，並互贈貴重的禮物，甚至回到西藏，仍然有交換禮物的習慣。

宣德年間大量西藏喇嘛駐京城寺廟中，至正統時期，其中691人被遣送回西藏。宣德九年(即1434年)宣德皇帝迎請釋迦也失進京，並封為「萬行妙明真如上勝清淨般若弘照普慧輔國顯教至善大慈法王西天正黨如來自在大圓通佛」。當他離京返回西藏時，宣德皇帝賜予他兩幅西藏曼達拉式的織繡肖像。在宣德朝官方檔案中，賞賜的禮物很少提及有佛像賜給西藏或來訪的喇嘛，而西藏藏宣德朝佛像極少，由此可見宣德賞賜予西藏的佛像，遠少於永樂時期。

此尊製作精美的，尺寸較大量壽佛坐像，應為朝廷賞賜予西藏高僧的禮物，並在皇室中已被供奉。蘇黎世莱特博格博物館 ( Rietberg Museum of Zurich) 藏兩尊帶尺寸較小、帶宣德款的鎏金佛像，一為文殊菩薩坐像 (圖一)，一為半跪菩薩像，(見 1995年出版《On the Path to Enlightenment - The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zürich》圖版68、72)。其中半跪菩薩像的面相被認為是照皇室人員的樣子而作。

無量壽佛是長壽、功德和智慧之佛，「Amita」意思為「無量」，「ayus」意思為「壽」。佛以雙手仰放下腹前，結禪定印，是佛入於禪定時所結的手印。有的無量壽佛手托長壽寶瓶，瓶內盛「amrita」，譯為「不死靈藥」。密教則以阿彌陀佛之應化身為無量光佛，其報身為無量壽佛。無量壽佛的裝飾通常為簡單的僧袍，沒有瓔珞和寶冠或如本尊頭戴五葉寶冠。赫爾穆特‧吳黎熙認為永宣兩朝的佛像多頭戴五葉寶冠，佩飾瓔珞，環釧，裝飾華麗。他在《On the Path to Enlightenment - The Berti Aschmann Foundation of Tibetan Art at the Museum Rietberg Zürich》第18頁中說：「他們顯示了宮廷的輝煌，同時也表現了皇室的宗教信仰、與佛之間的緊密關係。」此尊代表長壽、功德和智慧的無量壽佛座像應為宣德皇帝或其他皇室成員的慶典，如賀壽而特別製造。極有可能是獻給宣德帝的生母張氏，在宣德在位其間給了他極大的支持。
來源
An Irish estate
Previously sold at Sotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 25 March 1999, lot 121

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拍品專文

During a brief period in the early 15th century, between Yongle (1403-1425) and Xuande reigns, a group of exceedingly fine gilt-bronze sculptures were commission by the imperial court. Emperor Yongle actively courted Tibetan hierarchs and persuaded them to visit China, resulting in the development of Chinese style gilt-bronze Buddhist images.

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