.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Descriptif du lot
A RARE AND SUPERB GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF AVALOKITESHVARA
Robert D. Mowry 毛瑞
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie’s
Compellingly beautiful, this small Yongle-period (1403–1424) sculpture representing the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Mahakarunika seated in the pose of royal ease is exceptionally rare. In Tibeto-Chinese style, it was made for the Imperial Court during the Yongle reign (1403–1424) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) as evinced by the inscription reading Da Ming Yongle nian shi.
The crown, compassionate countenance, elaborate coiffure, princely garb, and wealth of jewelry identify this figure as a bodhisattva 菩薩, a benevolent being who has attained enlightenment 菩提 but who has selflessly postponed entry into nirvana 涅槃 in order to assist other sentient beings—有情 or 眾生—in gaining enlightenment and thereby release from the samsara cycle 輪迴 of birth and rebirth. Thanks to the enormous stores of meritorious karma they have amassed, bodhisattvas are able to assist others through the transfer of meritorious karma to those in need.
The lotus blossom at each shoulder combined with the sutra 佛經, or sacred book, resting atop the lotus at the proper right identify this sculpture as an image of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, known as Guanshiyin Pusa 觀世音菩薩 in Chinese or simply as Guanyin 觀音, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A translation of the Sanskrit name Avalokiteshvara, Guanshiyin means “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”, a reference to Guanyin’s ability to hear both the cries of the afflicted and the prayers of supplicants. Guanyin, a spiritual emanation of the Buddha Amitabha 阿彌陀佛, guards the world in the interval between the departure of the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni and the appearance of Maitreya 彌勒, the Buddha of the Future.
The Sanskrit term Mahakarunika means “All Compassionate” 大悲 and denotes a deity’s universal compassion for all beings. In the context of a Buddhist deity, Mahakarunika 大悲 is best translated as “the Great Compassionate One”. Used mainly in Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教—i.e., Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism—Mahakarunika 大悲 is another name for the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara; it emphasizes the bodhisattva’s boundless compassion. The combined name of Avalokiteshvara Mahakarunika, or Dabei Guanyin 大悲觀音 in Chinese, thus amplifies and underscores Avalokiteshvara as the embodiment of all-embracing compassion.
This sculpture presents the bodhisattva seated with body erect, back straight, and shoulders nearly level, the head turned slightly to the (figure’s) right, and with the eyes downcast and heavily lidded. The figure’s proper right leg is flexed and pulled up with the knee at chest height, the extended right arm flexed with the elbow resting on the right knee and the hand held at chest level, the fingers gracefully pointing downward. Also flexed and folded, the left leg lies flat on the top of the lotus base and perpendicular to the right leg. Lowered, the left arm descends straight down with the hand resting atop the base for support.
In formal terms, the figure sits in the pose of royal ease, which is called youxizuo 遊戲座 in Chinese and which is a literal translation of the Sanskrit terms lalitasana, rajalalitasana, and maharajalalitasana, the several terms denoting the exact placement and arrangement of the legs. The pose of royal ease traces its origins to ancient India; popular in northeastern India during the Pala dynasty (750–1174), the pose and sensuous style were transmitted to Nepal and Tibet which, in turn, would influence Chinese sculpture.
The present sculpture’s immediate visual and stylistic predecessors are those gilt bronze sculptures representing bodhisattvas seated in the pose of royal ease produced during the Yuan (1279–1368) and earliest years of the Ming such as the Guanyin sculpture that sold at Christie’s, London, on 14 May 2019 (Lot 116) or those in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (B60S566), British Museum, London (1947,0712.392), and Musée Guimet, Paris (MG 10639).
The formulaic, six-character inscription reading Da Ming Yongle nian shi, which is engraved at the center of the base’s flat top and which may be translated “Bestowed [during the] Yongle era [of the] Great Ming”, dates this sculpture to the Yongle reign (1403–1424) of the Ming dynasty, a period of great artistic refinement in China. Engraved after casting, inscriptions on such Tibeto-Chinese-style bronzes typically read from left to right, as seen here, and end with the verb shi, in this context meaning “bestow”, rather than with the verb zhi, meaning “made”, which is typically seen in the imperial marks of porcelains of the same period.
A Yongle-marked gilt bronze representing Avalokiteshvara seated in the pose of royal ease and holding a book sold at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2014, lot 1622, (Fig. 1) and a Xuande-period gilt bronze of Avalokiteshvara seated in exactly the same pose as the present figure and dated by inscription to 1435 sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 2839. The collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, includes a related Yongle gilt bronze representing the Bodhisattva Manjushri with four arms 四臂文殊菩薩 (2001.59), and a stylistically comparable sculpture of a seated Bodhisattva Tara 多羅菩薩 with an incised Yongle mark is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA (1992.289). The Himalayan Art Resources website illustrates and describes two Chinese gilt bronze sculptures now in private collections that depict Avalokiteshvara seated in the same posture as the present figure; lacking inscriptions, those sculptures have been ascribed to the fifteenth century on the basis of style (object nos. 1587 and 32746).
哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問
Robert D. Mowry 毛瑞
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie’s
Compellingly beautiful, this small Yongle-period (1403–1424) sculpture representing the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara Mahakarunika seated in the pose of royal ease is exceptionally rare. In Tibeto-Chinese style, it was made for the Imperial Court during the Yongle reign (1403–1424) of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) as evinced by the inscription reading Da Ming Yongle nian shi.
The crown, compassionate countenance, elaborate coiffure, princely garb, and wealth of jewelry identify this figure as a bodhisattva 菩薩, a benevolent being who has attained enlightenment 菩提 but who has selflessly postponed entry into nirvana 涅槃 in order to assist other sentient beings—有情 or 眾生—in gaining enlightenment and thereby release from the samsara cycle 輪迴 of birth and rebirth. Thanks to the enormous stores of meritorious karma they have amassed, bodhisattvas are able to assist others through the transfer of meritorious karma to those in need.
The lotus blossom at each shoulder combined with the sutra 佛經, or sacred book, resting atop the lotus at the proper right identify this sculpture as an image of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, known as Guanshiyin Pusa 觀世音菩薩 in Chinese or simply as Guanyin 觀音, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A translation of the Sanskrit name Avalokiteshvara, Guanshiyin means “[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World”, a reference to Guanyin’s ability to hear both the cries of the afflicted and the prayers of supplicants. Guanyin, a spiritual emanation of the Buddha Amitabha 阿彌陀佛, guards the world in the interval between the departure of the Historical Buddha Shakyamuni and the appearance of Maitreya 彌勒, the Buddha of the Future.
The Sanskrit term Mahakarunika means “All Compassionate” 大悲 and denotes a deity’s universal compassion for all beings. In the context of a Buddhist deity, Mahakarunika 大悲 is best translated as “the Great Compassionate One”. Used mainly in Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教—i.e., Tantric or Esoteric Buddhism—Mahakarunika 大悲 is another name for the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara; it emphasizes the bodhisattva’s boundless compassion. The combined name of Avalokiteshvara Mahakarunika, or Dabei Guanyin 大悲觀音 in Chinese, thus amplifies and underscores Avalokiteshvara as the embodiment of all-embracing compassion.
This sculpture presents the bodhisattva seated with body erect, back straight, and shoulders nearly level, the head turned slightly to the (figure’s) right, and with the eyes downcast and heavily lidded. The figure’s proper right leg is flexed and pulled up with the knee at chest height, the extended right arm flexed with the elbow resting on the right knee and the hand held at chest level, the fingers gracefully pointing downward. Also flexed and folded, the left leg lies flat on the top of the lotus base and perpendicular to the right leg. Lowered, the left arm descends straight down with the hand resting atop the base for support.
In formal terms, the figure sits in the pose of royal ease, which is called youxizuo 遊戲座 in Chinese and which is a literal translation of the Sanskrit terms lalitasana, rajalalitasana, and maharajalalitasana, the several terms denoting the exact placement and arrangement of the legs. The pose of royal ease traces its origins to ancient India; popular in northeastern India during the Pala dynasty (750–1174), the pose and sensuous style were transmitted to Nepal and Tibet which, in turn, would influence Chinese sculpture.
The present sculpture’s immediate visual and stylistic predecessors are those gilt bronze sculptures representing bodhisattvas seated in the pose of royal ease produced during the Yuan (1279–1368) and earliest years of the Ming such as the Guanyin sculpture that sold at Christie’s, London, on 14 May 2019 (Lot 116) or those in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco (B60S566), British Museum, London (1947,0712.392), and Musée Guimet, Paris (MG 10639).
The formulaic, six-character inscription reading Da Ming Yongle nian shi, which is engraved at the center of the base’s flat top and which may be translated “Bestowed [during the] Yongle era [of the] Great Ming”, dates this sculpture to the Yongle reign (1403–1424) of the Ming dynasty, a period of great artistic refinement in China. Engraved after casting, inscriptions on such Tibeto-Chinese-style bronzes typically read from left to right, as seen here, and end with the verb shi, in this context meaning “bestow”, rather than with the verb zhi, meaning “made”, which is typically seen in the imperial marks of porcelains of the same period.
A Yongle-marked gilt bronze representing Avalokiteshvara seated in the pose of royal ease and holding a book sold at Christie’s New York, 20 March 2014, lot 1622, (Fig. 1) and a Xuande-period gilt bronze of Avalokiteshvara seated in exactly the same pose as the present figure and dated by inscription to 1435 sold at Sotheby’s Hong Kong, 8 April 2011, lot 2839. The collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, includes a related Yongle gilt bronze representing the Bodhisattva Manjushri with four arms 四臂文殊菩薩 (2001.59), and a stylistically comparable sculpture of a seated Bodhisattva Tara 多羅菩薩 with an incised Yongle mark is in the collection of the Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA (1992.289). The Himalayan Art Resources website illustrates and describes two Chinese gilt bronze sculptures now in private collections that depict Avalokiteshvara seated in the same posture as the present figure; lacking inscriptions, those sculptures have been ascribed to the fifteenth century on the basis of style (object nos. 1587 and 32746).
哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問