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拍品專文
This masterwork represents the historical Buddha on the threshold of enlightenment. He is seated in the vajrasana posture recalling the moment when he attained liberation under the bodhi tree in Bodhgaya. His right hand is showing the bhumisparshamudra or earth-touching gesture. He is calling upon the earth to bear witness to the truth of his teachings and his victory over Mara, the god of desire, who had tried to distract him. This particular iconographic form is the most often depicted in Buddhism as it captures the ultimate moment in which Shakyamuni triumphed over his final obstacle to spiritual liberation. He is depicted as mainly a human person. His robes are indicated with just some linear designs, the navel and nipples prominent. Only the elongated earlobes and cranial bump announce his superhuman nature.
Many comparable iconographic examples have been created over the centuries though just a small group shows similar stylistic details like short neck, full and round shoulders and the hem of the robe draped over the left shoulder in the shape of a swallow’s tail. These particular examples were not just to commemorate the most important event during the life of Buddha Shakyamuni and thus as well for its followers but most likely to reproduce the main image in the Mahabodhi temple of Bodhgaya, the mother of all icons. Indeed it is well known that devotees held certain sacred images in such a reverence that these were faithfully copied over the centuries.
The smooth body surface was once cold-gilded of which remnants are still traceable on his face. This is in accordance with Indian iconographic prescriptions that mentioned that the skin of the Buddha should be of a golden hue.
A stylistic comparable gilt-bronze figure of Buddha Sakyamuni, though inlaid with silver, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 31 May 2017, lot 2804 (fig. 1). Additional, this sacred image has short cylindrical pins below the knees while our figure shows just one pin to secure it to the base. The Hong Kong example was lacking the separately-cast double-lotus base, which still exists with the Paris figure. Apart from these differences both bronzes are comparable in size, iconometric proportions and casting technique. The present Paris and the Hong Kong examples share the same pinched waist, muscular upper body and serene expression that reveal the influence of Nepalese sculptural style.
These stylistic elements can be found as well on another important silver-inlaid gilt-bronze Buddha figure sold recently at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2018, lot 306 (fig. 2.). They also have in common an impressive size and a double lotus base separately cast.
This fifteenth century style of the Paris Buddha can also be compared to some other examples sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2007, lot 317 and 21 September 2007, lot 137. Another stylistic comparable example was sold through Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2018, lot 103.
Furthermore the elegant hem, drape and twist of the Buddha’s monastic robe along his left upper arm while exposing his right shoulder can be found with fourteenth to fifteenth century bronzes of this Newari school in Tibet. See for instance U. von Schroeder, ‘Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet’, Visual Dharma Publications, 2001, vol. II, p. 962 and 963, figures 231A and 231C. The style of the separate created lotus pedestal with a band of pearls running above and below the full and broad lotus petals cast with an intricate and rather complex floral motif at the tips confirms the attribution.
This strong Nepalese influence on all discussed bronzes was prevalent throughout much of the Himalayas during the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. It was particularly popular in the central regions of Tibet, from which the present figure originates. The Newaris, the traditional inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, were the master bronze casters of the period, and their services were patronized far and wide, including at the imperial workshops of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. While the present figure exudes characteristics of Nepalese sculpture, the gilding and the tone of the bronze beneath identify this as a masterpiece made in Tibet.
Many comparable iconographic examples have been created over the centuries though just a small group shows similar stylistic details like short neck, full and round shoulders and the hem of the robe draped over the left shoulder in the shape of a swallow’s tail. These particular examples were not just to commemorate the most important event during the life of Buddha Shakyamuni and thus as well for its followers but most likely to reproduce the main image in the Mahabodhi temple of Bodhgaya, the mother of all icons. Indeed it is well known that devotees held certain sacred images in such a reverence that these were faithfully copied over the centuries.
The smooth body surface was once cold-gilded of which remnants are still traceable on his face. This is in accordance with Indian iconographic prescriptions that mentioned that the skin of the Buddha should be of a golden hue.
A stylistic comparable gilt-bronze figure of Buddha Sakyamuni, though inlaid with silver, was sold at Christie’s Hong Kong on 31 May 2017, lot 2804 (fig. 1). Additional, this sacred image has short cylindrical pins below the knees while our figure shows just one pin to secure it to the base. The Hong Kong example was lacking the separately-cast double-lotus base, which still exists with the Paris figure. Apart from these differences both bronzes are comparable in size, iconometric proportions and casting technique. The present Paris and the Hong Kong examples share the same pinched waist, muscular upper body and serene expression that reveal the influence of Nepalese sculptural style.
These stylistic elements can be found as well on another important silver-inlaid gilt-bronze Buddha figure sold recently at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2018, lot 306 (fig. 2.). They also have in common an impressive size and a double lotus base separately cast.
This fifteenth century style of the Paris Buddha can also be compared to some other examples sold at Christie’s New York, 21 March 2007, lot 317 and 21 September 2007, lot 137. Another stylistic comparable example was sold through Sotheby’s New York, 22 March 2018, lot 103.
Furthermore the elegant hem, drape and twist of the Buddha’s monastic robe along his left upper arm while exposing his right shoulder can be found with fourteenth to fifteenth century bronzes of this Newari school in Tibet. See for instance U. von Schroeder, ‘Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet’, Visual Dharma Publications, 2001, vol. II, p. 962 and 963, figures 231A and 231C. The style of the separate created lotus pedestal with a band of pearls running above and below the full and broad lotus petals cast with an intricate and rather complex floral motif at the tips confirms the attribution.
This strong Nepalese influence on all discussed bronzes was prevalent throughout much of the Himalayas during the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries. It was particularly popular in the central regions of Tibet, from which the present figure originates. The Newaris, the traditional inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley, were the master bronze casters of the period, and their services were patronized far and wide, including at the imperial workshops of the Yuan dynasty in Beijing. While the present figure exudes characteristics of Nepalese sculpture, the gilding and the tone of the bronze beneath identify this as a masterpiece made in Tibet.