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拍品專文
Early Ming dynasty Buddhist gilt-metal sculptures are famed for their exceptional quality as exemplified by this magnificent figure of Shakyamuni Buddha.
Shakyamuni—known historically as Gautama Siddhartha—was born into the royal Shakya clan in what is now Nepal around 563 BC. Although heir to the throne, Siddhartha renounced his princely life in pursuit of spiritual understanding. Through ascetic practice and meditation he achieved enlightenment, thereafter teaching the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the core principles that underpin all Buddhist doctrine. Upon his passing at approximately age eighty, around 483 BC, he entered nirvana. Since his enlightenment he has been venerated as Shakyamuni, and as the Historical Buddha.
While Shakyamuni is most commonly portrayed in the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsa mudra), the present sculpture presents a more uncommon depiction, with the hands placed in a meditative pose. The elegant robe, finely pleated and draped over the left shoulder, cascades naturally over the crossed legs. His hair is arranged in neat rows of small, pointed curls rising to a conical, bud-shaped ushnisha. The figure sits upon a rounded double-lotus pedestal, the upper surface of which bears an incised six-character inscription reading Da Ming Xuande nian shi—'Bestowed in the Great Ming Xuande Period.’
A comparable 15th-century figure of Shakyamuni, though with hands in bhumisparsa mudra, is published in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pl. 147B; another example was sold at Christie’s London, 12 November 2025, lot 114. A Xuande-marked figure of Bhaishajyaguru (the Medicine Buddha), displaying similarly exceptional casting and gilding, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 21 April 2021, lot 22.
Shakyamuni—known historically as Gautama Siddhartha—was born into the royal Shakya clan in what is now Nepal around 563 BC. Although heir to the throne, Siddhartha renounced his princely life in pursuit of spiritual understanding. Through ascetic practice and meditation he achieved enlightenment, thereafter teaching the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path, the core principles that underpin all Buddhist doctrine. Upon his passing at approximately age eighty, around 483 BC, he entered nirvana. Since his enlightenment he has been venerated as Shakyamuni, and as the Historical Buddha.
While Shakyamuni is most commonly portrayed in the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsa mudra), the present sculpture presents a more uncommon depiction, with the hands placed in a meditative pose. The elegant robe, finely pleated and draped over the left shoulder, cascades naturally over the crossed legs. His hair is arranged in neat rows of small, pointed curls rising to a conical, bud-shaped ushnisha. The figure sits upon a rounded double-lotus pedestal, the upper surface of which bears an incised six-character inscription reading Da Ming Xuande nian shi—'Bestowed in the Great Ming Xuande Period.’
A comparable 15th-century figure of Shakyamuni, though with hands in bhumisparsa mudra, is published in Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pl. 147B; another example was sold at Christie’s London, 12 November 2025, lot 114. A Xuande-marked figure of Bhaishajyaguru (the Medicine Buddha), displaying similarly exceptional casting and gilding, was sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 21 April 2021, lot 22.