.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Descriptif du lot
A Rare Gilt-Bronze Figure of Vajradhara
Robert D. Mowry 毛瑞
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie’s
哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問
Created in the fifteenth century, during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), this exquisite, Tibeto-Chinese style, gilt-bronze sculpture represents the Vajradhara, the Primordial Buddha 本初佛, who is known in Chinese as Jin’gang Zongchi (and, in shortened form, as Jin’gangchi) 金剛總持 (也稱為 金剛持). Although widely worshipped in Nepal and Tibet, Vajradhara was only infrequently venerated in China and thus is seldom represented in Chinese Buddhist art, marking this as an exceptionally rare and important sculpture.
Hands holding a vajra 金剛杵, or “thunderbolt scepter”, and a ghanta 金剛鈴, or prayer-bell, and held before the chest with wrists crossed identify this figure as Vajradhara, the Adi-Buddha 阿提佛陀—that is, the Primordial Buddha 本初佛of Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教. Followers of Vajrayana Buddhism believe that the religion’s sacred teachings, or dharma 佛法, originate with Vajradhara and that all other Buddhas emanate from him. As evinced by this sculpture, the vajra—in this case, a five-pronged vajra 五股杵 (也稱為 五鈷杵)—characteristically appears in the deity’s right hand and the matching vajra-handled ghanta in his left. The gesture with wrists crossed at the chest and palms facing inward symbolizes preaching and is termed the prajnalinganabhinaya-mudra, which is usually called anweiyin 安慰印 in Chinese. (A ritual hand gesture, a mudra 手印 symbolizes a particular action, power, or attitude of a deity.) Together, the vajra and ghanta symbolize the Buddhist ideals of all-penetrating emptiness and absolute wisdom—the former known as sunyata in Sanskrit and as kongxing 空性 or shunruoduo 舜若多 in Chinese, the latter as prajna in Sanskrit and bore 般若 in Chinese.
A form of Tantric, or Esoteric, Buddhism 密宗佛教, Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教 developed in India and neighbouring Nepal and Tibet and then gradually spread to East Asia. In the long history of Buddhism, Vajrayana marks the transition from the speculative thought of Mahayana Buddhism 大乘佛教to the enactment of Buddhist ideals in individual life. In the name “Vajrayana”, vajra 金剛 signifies the absolutely real and indestructible in a human being, as opposed to the fictions an individual entertains about himself and his nature, while yana 乘 refers to the spiritual pursuit of the ultimately valuable and indestructible.
Vajradhara is always shown seated; in this sculpture he sits in vajrasana position 金剛座 atop a Nepalese-style, double-lotus base. He appears in a formal, erect pose, his spine straight, his shoulders square, his head held high, rather than in the less-formal, S-curved pose typical of bodhisattva images in Tibeto-Chinese style.
Following Nepalese and Tibetan convention, Vajradhara characteristically appears in the guise of a bodhisattva 菩薩. (A bodhisattva is a benevolent being who has gained enlightenment but has selflessly postponed entry into nirvana in order to help other sentient beings 眾生 achieve enlightenment.) Vajradhara is thus richly attired and is represented with long hair arranged in an imposing coiffure with a tall bun atop the head and with long strands cascading over the shoulders; a braid of hair encircles the base of the topknot, and a jewel appears at its summit, the jewel known variously as a manibaozhu 摩尼寶珠 and a mounibaozhu 牟尼寶珠. Small ringlets of hair follow the hairline across the forehead, down the temples, and around the nape of the neck.
As the Primordial Buddha, Vajradhara wears an elaborate crown with eight vertical, jewel-embellished lappets 葉—in contrast to a bodhisattva’s crown which typically has five rising lappets—the eight lappets a reference to the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path 八正道 to enlightenment. He wears ornamental scarves, a dhoti 腰布 of rich silk brocade, and a wealth of jewelry that includes armlets, bracelets, anklets, and long chains of beads as well as large, circular earrings whose size and style reflect the Nepalese origin of this iconographic type.
The distinguishing characteristic of most Buddhas is the ushnisha 佛頂, or cranial protuberance atop the head, that symbolizes the expanded wisdom that the Buddha gained at his enlightenment 菩提. As a Buddha, Vajradhara of course has an ushnisha; however, as he is presented in the trappings of a bodhisattva, the bun of hair atop his head conceals his ushnisha from view.
Numerous sculptures in this Nepali-Tibetan-influenced style were produced during the Yongle (1403–1424) and Xuande (1426–1435) reigns, and the style continued through the fifteenth and into the sixteenth century with but little change or evolution. Such details as the ends of the scarf falling from the top and onto the lower portion of the base differentiate this sculpture from those made early in the fifteenth century.
The closest counterpart to this superb sculpture is a Yongle-marked, gilt-bronze sculpture of Vajradhara that sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2022, lot 2885 as well as four Yongle-marked gilt bronzes representing Vajradhara in collections in Tibet, including one in Lhasa’s Jo khang Temple / gtsug lag khang and three in the collection of the Potala Palace, Lhasa. (Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong: Visual Dharma, 2001, vol. 2, pp. 1250-1251, plates 343A-E.) The Himalayan Art Resources website illustrates and describes five additional Chinese, gilt-bronze sculptures of Vajradhara that are now in private collections, that are similar in style to the present Vajradhara, and that, although dating to the fifteenth century, lack imperial inscriptions (object nos. 12441, 23125, 57394, 57396, and 57397).
Robert D. Mowry 毛瑞
Alan J. Dworsky Curator of Chinese Art Emeritus,
Harvard Art Museums, and
Senior Consultant, Christie’s
哈佛大學藝術博物館亞洲部榮譽主任暨佳士得高級顧問
Created in the fifteenth century, during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), this exquisite, Tibeto-Chinese style, gilt-bronze sculpture represents the Vajradhara, the Primordial Buddha 本初佛, who is known in Chinese as Jin’gang Zongchi (and, in shortened form, as Jin’gangchi) 金剛總持 (也稱為 金剛持). Although widely worshipped in Nepal and Tibet, Vajradhara was only infrequently venerated in China and thus is seldom represented in Chinese Buddhist art, marking this as an exceptionally rare and important sculpture.
Hands holding a vajra 金剛杵, or “thunderbolt scepter”, and a ghanta 金剛鈴, or prayer-bell, and held before the chest with wrists crossed identify this figure as Vajradhara, the Adi-Buddha 阿提佛陀—that is, the Primordial Buddha 本初佛of Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教. Followers of Vajrayana Buddhism believe that the religion’s sacred teachings, or dharma 佛法, originate with Vajradhara and that all other Buddhas emanate from him. As evinced by this sculpture, the vajra—in this case, a five-pronged vajra 五股杵 (也稱為 五鈷杵)—characteristically appears in the deity’s right hand and the matching vajra-handled ghanta in his left. The gesture with wrists crossed at the chest and palms facing inward symbolizes preaching and is termed the prajnalinganabhinaya-mudra, which is usually called anweiyin 安慰印 in Chinese. (A ritual hand gesture, a mudra 手印 symbolizes a particular action, power, or attitude of a deity.) Together, the vajra and ghanta symbolize the Buddhist ideals of all-penetrating emptiness and absolute wisdom—the former known as sunyata in Sanskrit and as kongxing 空性 or shunruoduo 舜若多 in Chinese, the latter as prajna in Sanskrit and bore 般若 in Chinese.
A form of Tantric, or Esoteric, Buddhism 密宗佛教, Vajrayana Buddhism 金剛乘佛教 developed in India and neighbouring Nepal and Tibet and then gradually spread to East Asia. In the long history of Buddhism, Vajrayana marks the transition from the speculative thought of Mahayana Buddhism 大乘佛教to the enactment of Buddhist ideals in individual life. In the name “Vajrayana”, vajra 金剛 signifies the absolutely real and indestructible in a human being, as opposed to the fictions an individual entertains about himself and his nature, while yana 乘 refers to the spiritual pursuit of the ultimately valuable and indestructible.
Vajradhara is always shown seated; in this sculpture he sits in vajrasana position 金剛座 atop a Nepalese-style, double-lotus base. He appears in a formal, erect pose, his spine straight, his shoulders square, his head held high, rather than in the less-formal, S-curved pose typical of bodhisattva images in Tibeto-Chinese style.
Following Nepalese and Tibetan convention, Vajradhara characteristically appears in the guise of a bodhisattva 菩薩. (A bodhisattva is a benevolent being who has gained enlightenment but has selflessly postponed entry into nirvana in order to help other sentient beings 眾生 achieve enlightenment.) Vajradhara is thus richly attired and is represented with long hair arranged in an imposing coiffure with a tall bun atop the head and with long strands cascading over the shoulders; a braid of hair encircles the base of the topknot, and a jewel appears at its summit, the jewel known variously as a manibaozhu 摩尼寶珠 and a mounibaozhu 牟尼寶珠. Small ringlets of hair follow the hairline across the forehead, down the temples, and around the nape of the neck.
As the Primordial Buddha, Vajradhara wears an elaborate crown with eight vertical, jewel-embellished lappets 葉—in contrast to a bodhisattva’s crown which typically has five rising lappets—the eight lappets a reference to the Buddha’s Noble Eightfold Path 八正道 to enlightenment. He wears ornamental scarves, a dhoti 腰布 of rich silk brocade, and a wealth of jewelry that includes armlets, bracelets, anklets, and long chains of beads as well as large, circular earrings whose size and style reflect the Nepalese origin of this iconographic type.
The distinguishing characteristic of most Buddhas is the ushnisha 佛頂, or cranial protuberance atop the head, that symbolizes the expanded wisdom that the Buddha gained at his enlightenment 菩提. As a Buddha, Vajradhara of course has an ushnisha; however, as he is presented in the trappings of a bodhisattva, the bun of hair atop his head conceals his ushnisha from view.
Numerous sculptures in this Nepali-Tibetan-influenced style were produced during the Yongle (1403–1424) and Xuande (1426–1435) reigns, and the style continued through the fifteenth and into the sixteenth century with but little change or evolution. Such details as the ends of the scarf falling from the top and onto the lower portion of the base differentiate this sculpture from those made early in the fifteenth century.
The closest counterpart to this superb sculpture is a Yongle-marked, gilt-bronze sculpture of Vajradhara that sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 30 May 2022, lot 2885 as well as four Yongle-marked gilt bronzes representing Vajradhara in collections in Tibet, including one in Lhasa’s Jo khang Temple / gtsug lag khang and three in the collection of the Potala Palace, Lhasa. (Ulrich von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet, Hong Kong: Visual Dharma, 2001, vol. 2, pp. 1250-1251, plates 343A-E.) The Himalayan Art Resources website illustrates and describes five additional Chinese, gilt-bronze sculptures of Vajradhara that are now in private collections, that are similar in style to the present Vajradhara, and that, although dating to the fifteenth century, lack imperial inscriptions (object nos. 12441, 23125, 57394, 57396, and 57397).