Page 17 - A MONUMENTAL GILT-BRONZE BUTTER LAMPS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST RITUALS

To understand this, we need to consider the unique historical Of course, we should not rule out another possibility that these
background during the Jingtai and Tianshun reigns. In the type of large ritual objects were made and cast for preparation
eighth month of the 14th year of the Zhengtong reign (1449), in the Imperial Workshops and used only when needed. The
the Mongols invaded the northern frontiers of the Ming Empire. bronze butter lamp could have already been made, but the
Emperor Yingzong (Zhengtong) personally took command of marks could be added later accordingly depending on the
the army for the defence at Tumu fort (now in Hebei Province) reign and use. Although there is no way of confirming this from
and was taken prisoner by the Mongols in battle. This is known records, this was not a rare situation in the later Qing dynasty.
in historical records as the ‘the reversal at Tumu fort’. To deal
with this unexpected event, the Ming Court anointed Prince Since the early destruction of the Jiangfu temple, we have no
Zhu Qiyu as Emperor Daizong, taking the reign name ‘Jingtai’. complete way of verifying the interior from old photographs, let
Daizong had not been on the throne for seven years before alone confirming whether the great halls had butter lamps such
the captive Yingzong was released and took the throne again, as these. However, we can affirm that in such a temple such
taking the the reign name of ‘Tianshun’. This butter lamp was as Jiangfu, there would no doubt have been large butter lamps
most likely designed for an Imperial temple at the beginning of such as this.
Yingzong’s reign, but when Daizong suddenly took the throne
and repaired some temples, was made for different uses and In conclusion, this gilt-bronze butter lamp undoubtedly came
and the reign name and mark was changed. from the Imperial Workshops, although we cannot confirm
exactly, its great size implies it was made for a great temple. It’s
In considering the Jingtai reign, Daizong was tolerant towards form, size and craftsmanships encapsulates the high level of the
Tibetan Buddhism and the number of monks increased while imperial court style.
there was a great flowering of building temples; among which
were two Imperial temples. The most important was the great
Jiangfu temple, built in the second year of the Jingtai reign 1 For more on the Bodhimanda Foundation, see M.Henss, ‘Sacred Spaces
and Secret Visions: Tibetan Buddhist Art from the Bodhimanda Foundation’,
(1452), which according to records ‘several tens of thousands Orientations, 43(1), pp.6-72, pp.66 and 68.
[of taels] was spent on, and the most majestic of temples in the 2 M.Henss, Buddhist Art in Tibet: New Insights on Ancient Treasures. A Study
capital’. From this we can surmise that this gilt-bronze butter of Paintings and Sculptures from the 8th to 18th century, Hamburg, 2008,
p.68, pl.131.
lamp’s intended purpose was changed and made to be used in 3 Special thanks to my colleague Yang Yong for providing me with these
this temple, thus there was no choice but to change the mark. images and materials.
4
4 He Xiaorong, Mingdai Beijing fojiaosiyuan xiujian yanjiu, Tianjin: Nankai
daxue chubanshe, 2007, pp.178-198.

(figs.1-4); images courtesy of the Palace Museum, Beijing

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