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拍品專文
The present rotund figure depicts the Buddhist wealth deity, Jambhala. Often confused with the Hindu god Kubera or the Buddhist Guardian King, Vaishravana, Jambhala’s unusual appearance descends from ancient Indian yaksha figures. In visual iconography, the Hindu god Kubera, also a wealth deity, and Jambhala are essentially identical, while Vaishravana can be easily distinguished by the presence of armor, among other things. In many representations of Kubera, Vaishravana, and Jambhala (although not in the case of the present figure) the mongoose that the deity clutches spews jewels, exemplifying the wealth-granting powers of all three deities.
Within the corpus of known early Ming gilt-bronzes, Jambhala is exceedingly rare, although images of Vaishravana riding a lion are known. The present work exhibits all of the hallmark traditions of contemporary Nepalese sculpture, including elegant, robust figural proportions and excellent casting and gilding technique. The Nepalese style had been introduced to China in the Yuan dynasty when the Nepalese master artisan, Aniko (also spelled Araniko or Anige) was installed as the head artist of the imperial workshops in Beijing. Major extant sites in China exhibiting the Nepalese style include the Juyong Gate or Cloud Platform outside Beijing and the stone carvings at Feilaifeng in Hangzhou, both dated to the Yuan. See, in particular, a seated figure of Jambhala, iconographically and stylistically similar to the present bronze, carved from the limestone of Feilaifeng and illustrated by Ann Paludan in Chinese Sculpture: A Great Tradition, Chicago, 2006, p. 407, fig. 269.
Following the tumultuous transition from the Yuan dynasty to the Ming in 1368, the Yongle Emperor followed in the tradition of his Yuan predecessors by inviting important Tibetan Buddhist dignitaries to his court. In 1406, the Yongle Emperor invited Deshin Shekpa, the Fifth Karmapa and head of the Karma Kagyu sect to Nanjing, where he spent two years as a spiritual advisor to the Emperor. Similarly, he requested Tsongkhapa, head of the reformist Gelug sect, to visit in both 1408 and 1413; while he declined to make the trip himself, Tsongkhapa sent his disciple, Shakya Yeshe, who remained in the capital for ten years. The result of this fruitful relationship was the resumption of imperially-sponsored Buddhist activities in China. Lavish gifts were exchanged between the visiting dignitaries and the Emperor, including imperially-produced gilt-bronzes. Although few other Yongle-inscribed gilt-bronze images of Jambhala are known, compare the present figure to a figure of Chaturbhuja Mahakala in the collection of the Potala and illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. II, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 1243, XX-8. Both share the same rotund proportions and full face with bulging eyes, as well as exhibit identical treatment of the base and jewelry, in particular the naga tied around the belly. See, also, a small and more crudely-cast figure of Jambhala, stylistically dated to the early Ming dynasty, illustrated by R. Bigler, Art and Faith at the Crossroads, Zurich, 2013, p. 92, no. 35.
In order to fulfill their religious function, Buddhist images had to conform to the orthodox and complex iconography of Tibetan Buddhism, with its hundreds of deities. To ensure compliance with such strict regulations, Chinese artisans consulted iconographic manuals, known in Tibetan as kanjur. The Yongle Emperor himself ordered the production of an Imperial kanjur, which was completed in 1410, and was based off an earlier 14th-century set of wood blocks from the great printing center of Narthang, in Tibet. Certain parts of the Yongle kanjur survived into the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), were incorporated into a kanjur commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor in the late 17th century, and were thus preserved to the present day. One of the surviving prints, illustrated by von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. II, p. 1240, fig. XX-5 depicts the deity Chaturbhuja Mahakala, and correlates very closely both stylistically and iconographically to the aforementioned gilt-bronze figure of Chaturbhuja Mahakala in the Potala. It is clear the artist of the present bronze closely followed the rubrics of the Yongle kanjur, although a print depicting the deity, Jambhala, is not known at this time.
Within the corpus of known early Ming gilt-bronzes, Jambhala is exceedingly rare, although images of Vaishravana riding a lion are known. The present work exhibits all of the hallmark traditions of contemporary Nepalese sculpture, including elegant, robust figural proportions and excellent casting and gilding technique. The Nepalese style had been introduced to China in the Yuan dynasty when the Nepalese master artisan, Aniko (also spelled Araniko or Anige) was installed as the head artist of the imperial workshops in Beijing. Major extant sites in China exhibiting the Nepalese style include the Juyong Gate or Cloud Platform outside Beijing and the stone carvings at Feilaifeng in Hangzhou, both dated to the Yuan. See, in particular, a seated figure of Jambhala, iconographically and stylistically similar to the present bronze, carved from the limestone of Feilaifeng and illustrated by Ann Paludan in Chinese Sculpture: A Great Tradition, Chicago, 2006, p. 407, fig. 269.
Following the tumultuous transition from the Yuan dynasty to the Ming in 1368, the Yongle Emperor followed in the tradition of his Yuan predecessors by inviting important Tibetan Buddhist dignitaries to his court. In 1406, the Yongle Emperor invited Deshin Shekpa, the Fifth Karmapa and head of the Karma Kagyu sect to Nanjing, where he spent two years as a spiritual advisor to the Emperor. Similarly, he requested Tsongkhapa, head of the reformist Gelug sect, to visit in both 1408 and 1413; while he declined to make the trip himself, Tsongkhapa sent his disciple, Shakya Yeshe, who remained in the capital for ten years. The result of this fruitful relationship was the resumption of imperially-sponsored Buddhist activities in China. Lavish gifts were exchanged between the visiting dignitaries and the Emperor, including imperially-produced gilt-bronzes. Although few other Yongle-inscribed gilt-bronze images of Jambhala are known, compare the present figure to a figure of Chaturbhuja Mahakala in the collection of the Potala and illustrated by U. von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. II, Hong Kong, 2001, p. 1243, XX-8. Both share the same rotund proportions and full face with bulging eyes, as well as exhibit identical treatment of the base and jewelry, in particular the naga tied around the belly. See, also, a small and more crudely-cast figure of Jambhala, stylistically dated to the early Ming dynasty, illustrated by R. Bigler, Art and Faith at the Crossroads, Zurich, 2013, p. 92, no. 35.
In order to fulfill their religious function, Buddhist images had to conform to the orthodox and complex iconography of Tibetan Buddhism, with its hundreds of deities. To ensure compliance with such strict regulations, Chinese artisans consulted iconographic manuals, known in Tibetan as kanjur. The Yongle Emperor himself ordered the production of an Imperial kanjur, which was completed in 1410, and was based off an earlier 14th-century set of wood blocks from the great printing center of Narthang, in Tibet. Certain parts of the Yongle kanjur survived into the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), were incorporated into a kanjur commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor in the late 17th century, and were thus preserved to the present day. One of the surviving prints, illustrated by von Schroeder in Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, vol. II, p. 1240, fig. XX-5 depicts the deity Chaturbhuja Mahakala, and correlates very closely both stylistically and iconographically to the aforementioned gilt-bronze figure of Chaturbhuja Mahakala in the Potala. It is clear the artist of the present bronze closely followed the rubrics of the Yongle kanjur, although a print depicting the deity, Jambhala, is not known at this time.